Oncologist Perspectives on Telemedicine for Patients With Cancer: A National Comprehensive Cancer Network Survey
Plain-language summary
A National Comprehensive Cancer Network workgroup surveyed 1,038 oncology providers at 26 institutions in summer 2020 about using telemedicine after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed care online. Most providers found phone and video visits worked as well as or better than in-person visits for reviewing routine follow-up data, though far fewer felt telemedicine was as good for building a personal connection with patients, and nearly all said adverse outcomes rarely or never occurred. Providers estimated that about 46% of visits could be handled virtually going forward, while flagging barriers such as patients' access to technology, clinical workflows, and uncertainty about insurance coverage.
Read the full paper (DOI: 10.1200/OP.21.00195).
This is a plain-language summary written for discoverability; the authoritative version is the published paper. Part of Travis Osterman's peer-reviewed publications.