WCLC Sept 2021 | COVID-19 & the rise of telemedicine in lung cancer care
Christopher Manley, MD, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, discusses the move toward telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has impacted the care process for patients with lung cancer. Dr Manley explains that while telehealth visits can make clinical assessment of patients more challenging, the ability for patients to speak with their healthcare team from their homes, without the need to visit the Cancer Center, can enhance patient satisfaction and comfort. This interview took place at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) 2021.
Transcript (edited for clarity)
So the biggest impact that COVID has had on our clinics has been our move to telehealth visits, and this has actually been both good and bad. I’d say that the positive side is that patients are able to contact us from home. So they can schedule their visit, have a telehealth visit with a physician or nurse practitioner without having to come into the cancer center. So from patient satisfaction and comfort, I think that’s excellent...
So the biggest impact that COVID has had on our clinics has been our move to telehealth visits, and this has actually been both good and bad. I’d say that the positive side is that patients are able to contact us from home. So they can schedule their visit, have a telehealth visit with a physician or nurse practitioner without having to come into the cancer center. So from patient satisfaction and comfort, I think that’s excellent. I think that from some clinical standpoint, I think there really is benefit to meeting a patient in person. Seeing a patient in clinic has a benefit of us being able to see how well they are appearing, if they’re short of breath moving. So there is a little bit of a trade-off in terms of the clinical assessment, but I think the benefit of patients’ comfort and their ability to do appointments from home is certainly a positive.
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Disclosures
Dr Manley serves as a consultant for Johnson and Johnson and Auris Health. He has received research grant funding from Mauna Kea and Johnson and Johnson.
