Mediated consumer–provider communication in cancer care: the empowering potential of new technologies

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Street
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Provider Communication ◽  
Consumer Provider

scholarly journals Protocol for the avatar acceptability study: a multiperspective cross-sectional study evaluating the acceptability of using patient-derived xenografts to guide personalised cancer care in Australia and New Zealand

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. e024064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire E Wakefield ◽  
Emma L Doolan ◽  
Joanna E Fardell ◽  
Christina Signorelli ◽  
Veronica F Quinn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Decisional Balance ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

IntroductionPatient-derived xenografts (PDXs) have the potential to transform personalised cancer care, however, little is known about the acceptability of using PDXs to guide treatment decision-making. Given that patient and community preferences can influence satisfaction with care as well as the success of new technologies, we will evaluate the acceptability of PDXs in individuals affected by cancer and community comparisons.Methods and analysisThis comparative cross-sectional study will recruit 323 individuals affected by cancer (cancer survivors (of childhood or adult cancer) and parents of childhood cancer survivors) and 323 community comparisons (adults and parents). We will collect data via structured interviews and questionnaires. To determine the acceptability of PDXs, we will assess five domains: willingness to use PDXs when/if diagnosed with cancer, perceived advantages and disadvantages of PDXs, maximum acceptable out-of-pocket costs per patient, maximum acceptable turnaround time to receive results and maximum acceptable number of mice sacrificed per patient. The primary endpoint will be participants’ decisional balance ratio (calculated as participants’ advantages ratings divided by perceived disadvantages ratings).Ethics and disseminationThe study protocol has been approved by the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC:12/173) and UNSW Sydney (HC15773). The results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and at scientific conferences. A lay summary will be published on the Behavioural Sciences Unit website.

scholarly journals Delivering High-Quality and Affordable Care Throughout the Cancer Care Continuum

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (32) ◽  
pp. 4151-4157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Chen Tina Shih ◽  
Patricia A. Ganz ◽  
Denise Aberle ◽  
Amy Abernethy ◽  
Justin Bekelman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
The United States ◽  
Institute Of Medicine ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Care Continuum ◽  
Quality Cancer Care ◽  
Cancer Care Continuum

The national cost of cancer care is projected to reach $173 billion by 2020, increasing from $125 billion in 2010. This steep upward cost trajectory has placed enormous an financial burden on patients, their families, and society as a whole and raised major concern about the ability of the health care system to provide and sustain high-quality cancer care. To better understand the cost drivers of cancer care and explore approaches that will mitigate the problem, the National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine held a workshop entitled “Delivering Affordable Cancer Care in the 21st Century” in October 2012. Workshop participants included bioethicists, health economists, primary care physicians, and medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists, from both academic and community settings. All speakers expressed a sense of urgency about the affordability of cancer care resulting from the future demographic trend as well as the high cost of emerging cancer therapies and rapid diffusion of new technologies in the absence to evidence indicating improved outcomes for patients. This article is our summary of presentations at the workshop that highlighted the overuse and underuse of screening, treatments, and technologies throughout the cancer care continuum in oncology practice in the United States.

scholarly journals Successes and Challenges of Implementing Teleprehabilitation for Onco-Surgical Candidates and Patients’ Experience: A Retrospective Pilot-Cohort Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Drummond ◽  
Genevieve Lambert ◽  
Bhagya Tahasildar ◽  
Francesco Carli
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
International Health ◽  
Activity Data ◽  
Cancer Care Facilities ◽  
Physical Activity Monitoring ◽  
Patients Experience ◽  
Successes And Challenges

Abstract Purpose: This study aimed to document the successes and challenges of teleprehabilitation programs for cancer patients undergoing surgery.Method: This pilot-cohort study included adults scheduled for elective cancer surgery, referred to the prehabilitation clinic to engage in physical activity and received a teleprehabilitation program between August 1st 2020 and February 28th 2021. Using a technology platform that included a tablet and was wearable, data were acquired through virtual physical activity monitoring in addition to patient charts.Results: Ten patients (8 males and 2 females; mean age: 68.3 years, SD: 11.96) diagnosed with various thoraco-abdominal malignancies were included in the current descriptive study. The successes identified were related to recruitment and assessment, improvement in functional capacity, clinic scheduling and interventions, and optimal medical follow-up. The challenges identified were related to the adoption of the technologies by patients and the multidisciplinary team, the accurate acquisition of patient physical activity data, and the initial costs to acquire the new technologies. Patients were satisfied with the teleprehabilitation program (i.e., services delivered; average appreciation: 96%), and they perceived the technologies provided to be 90% user-friendly.Conclusion: The findings of the current study are paramount in view of the current international health paradigm changes prioritizing remote interventions facilitated through digital communication technologies. It provides important insight into the clinical application of telehealth in elderly populations, notably in the context of acute preoperative cancer care. This article may provide guidance for other cancer care facilities aiming to implement teleprehabilitation programs.

scholarly journals Web-Based Patient Self-Reported Outcome After Radiotherapy in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer: Survey on Acceptance of Digital Tools (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco M E Vogel ◽  
Kerstin A Eitz ◽  
Stephanie E Combs
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Radiation Treatment ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
European Organization ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Willingness To Use

BACKGROUND eHealth and mobile health (mHealth) are an evolving trend in the medical field. The acceptance of digital tools is high, and the need is growing. OBJECTIVE Young adults (18-40 years) confronted with a cancer diagnosis present unique needs and require special care. They often have a strong affinity and are familiar with modern technology. On that account, we implemented a web-based symptom and quality of life (QoL) assessment to address patients’ attitudes and willingness to use mHealth tools. The study also aims to evaluate sociodemographic parameters that could influence patients’ opinions. METHODS A total of 380 young patients aged 18-40 treated with radiotherapy between 2002 and 2017 were included in the trial. We assessed QoL via the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Core 30 (EORTC C30) questionnaire and added general questions about mHealth technology. The added questions inquired patients’ opinions regarding general aspects, including technical advances in medicine, mobile and app assistance during cancer treatment, data transfer, and app-specific features. The survey was conducted for 12 months. Participation was voluntary and pseudonymized; prior written consent was obtained. RESULTS We achieved a participation rate of 57.6% (219/380) and a completion rate of 50.2% (110/219). The median age was 33 years (range 18-40). Of all participants, 89.1% (98/110) considered new technologies in medicine as positive; 10.9% (12/110) answered with neutral. Nearly all patients (96.4%, 106/110) stated that they would send further data via a web-based platform. Of all, 96.4% (106/110) considered the provided pseudonymization of their data as safe. We further asked the patients if they would use a mobile app for symptom and QoL assessment similar to the present web-based system: 74.5% (82/110) answered with yes and 25.5% (28/110) said they would not use a mobile app in the future. We tested the willingness to use an app on several sociodemographic parameters, such as age, gender, education, health insurance status, and cancer-related parameters: tumor stage, time since radiation treatment, and treatment intention. None of these parameters correlated with app use in this group of young adults. Patients who were generally positive regarding using an app rated several possible functions of a future app. The 3 most requested features were appointment reminders (89.0%, 73/82), contact overview of all involved clinics and physicians (87%, 71/82), and making an appointment via app (78%, 64/82). CONCLUSIONS eHealth and mHealth tools should be available as an integrated part of a comprehensive cancer care approach. It provides automated, thorough documentation of health parameters during therapy and follow-up for doctors, medical staff, and tumor patients to optimize treatment. With this study, we could show that young adults are the ideal patient population to use eHealth/mHealth tools. Such tools offer further digital support and improve the patients’ need for constant QoL during cancer care.

Driving Evidence-Based Standardization of Care within a Framework of Personalized Medicine

2012 ◽  
pp. e62-e65
Author(s):  
Adam Brufsky ◽  
Kathleen Lokay ◽  
Melissa McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Clinical Pathways ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
The United States ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
University Of Pittsburgh ◽  
Cancer Subtypes ◽  
Prognostic Tests ◽  
The Many

Overview: Cancer care in the United States faces a number of key challenges today that are causing payers, referring physicians, and patients alike to question the value of the care, in terms of both outcomes and costs. New technologies in the form of pharmaceuticals and biologics, prognostic tests, and new radiation therapy tools and techniques offer the promise of improved outcomes, but their cost-effectiveness is often unclear. Oncologists themselves are caught in the middle, as they are the prescribers of such technologies and the entity billing for such services but have only limited ability to influence the pricing models for these services. Finally, as oncology care becomes more complex because of increased understanding of the pathogenesis of the many subtypes of cancer, the community-based oncologist who cares for patients with all cancer subtypes is confronted with maintaining an up-to-date knowledge base that is expanding rapidly. Although no single solution for these issues exists in oncology today, the experience at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has demonstrated that a clinical pathways program can reduce unwarranted variability in both treatment and outcomes, drive adherence to evidence-based medicine, and, in the process, reduce the growth rate in the total costs of cancer care.

scholarly journals Web-Based Patient Self-Reported Outcome After Radiotherapy in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer: Survey on Acceptance of Digital Tools

10.2196/19727 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e19727
Author(s):  
Marco M E Vogel ◽  
Kerstin A Eitz ◽  
Stephanie E Combs
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Radiation Treatment ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
European Organization ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Willingness To Use

Background eHealth and mobile health (mHealth) are an evolving trend in the medical field. The acceptance of digital tools is high, and the need is growing. Objective Young adults (18-40 years) confronted with a cancer diagnosis present unique needs and require special care. They often have a strong affinity and are familiar with modern technology. On that account, we implemented a web-based symptom and quality of life (QoL) assessment to address patients’ attitudes and willingness to use mHealth tools. The study also aims to evaluate sociodemographic parameters that could influence patients’ opinions. Methods A total of 380 young patients aged 18-40 treated with radiotherapy between 2002 and 2017 were included in the trial. We assessed QoL via the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Core 30 (EORTC C30) questionnaire and added general questions about mHealth technology. The added questions inquired patients’ opinions regarding general aspects, including technical advances in medicine, mobile and app assistance during cancer treatment, data transfer, and app-specific features. The survey was conducted for 12 months. Participation was voluntary and pseudonymized; prior written consent was obtained. Results We achieved a participation rate of 57.6% (219/380) and a completion rate of 50.2% (110/219). The median age was 33 years (range 18-40). Of all participants, 89.1% (98/110) considered new technologies in medicine as positive; 10.9% (12/110) answered with neutral. Nearly all patients (96.4%, 106/110) stated that they would send further data via a web-based platform. Of all, 96.4% (106/110) considered the provided pseudonymization of their data as safe. We further asked the patients if they would use a mobile app for symptom and QoL assessment similar to the present web-based system: 74.5% (82/110) answered with yes and 25.5% (28/110) said they would not use a mobile app in the future. We tested the willingness to use an app on several sociodemographic parameters, such as age, gender, education, health insurance status, and cancer-related parameters: tumor stage, time since radiation treatment, and treatment intention. None of these parameters correlated with app use in this group of young adults. Patients who were generally positive regarding using an app rated several possible functions of a future app. The 3 most requested features were appointment reminders (89.0%, 73/82), contact overview of all involved clinics and physicians (87%, 71/82), and making an appointment via app (78%, 64/82). Conclusions eHealth and mHealth tools should be available as an integrated part of a comprehensive cancer care approach. It provides automated, thorough documentation of health parameters during therapy and follow-up for doctors, medical staff, and tumor patients to optimize treatment. With this study, we could show that young adults are the ideal patient population to use eHealth/mHealth tools. Such tools offer further digital support and improve the patients’ need for constant QoL during cancer care.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document