Community-Based Telehealth Approach Improves Specialist Access for Individuals with Increased Cancer Risk in...

Area of Science:

• Oral Health
• Public Health
• Telemedicine

Background:

• Low-resource, minority, and underserved populations (LRMU) face significant barriers to oral cancer (OC) early detection and treatment.
• Poor compliance with specialist referrals is a major contributor to adverse OC outcomes in LRMU.
• This study addresses the need for improved referral compliance in high-risk LRMU individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare specialist referral compliance between Telehealth and in-person visits for LRMU individuals with oral potentially malignant lesions (OPMLs).
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel, low-cost Telehealth platform in improving access to specialist care.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 40 LRMU subjects who screened positive for OPMLs.
• Subjects chose between Telehealth or in-person specialist visits, with comprehensive support provided.
• Referral compliance was tracked for 3 months using a community clinic-based Telehealth platform.

Main Results:

• Telehealth demonstrated significantly higher referral compliance at 1 month (p = 0.0006) and 3 months (p = 0.0154) compared to in-person visits.
• 16 out of 24 subjects in the Telehealth group attended their initial appointment, with 20/24 complying within 3 months.
• Only 7 out of 16 subjects in the in-person group attended their initial visit, with 7/16 complying within 3 months.

Conclusions:

• A novel, low-cost Telehealth platform shows potential to enhance specialist referral compliance in low-resource settings.
• Telemedicine may be a viable strategy to mitigate disparities in oral cancer care access and outcomes.
• Improving compliance with specialist referrals is crucial for early detection and better treatment outcomes in high-risk populations.