Key Findings from ACCC’s Digital Tools Survey

J Clin Pathways. 2023;9(5):66.

Remote patient monitoring is a type of telehealth that al­lows patients to share data about their health with their care team between clinic visits, including symptoms and vitals. Symptom tracking and monitoring technologies allow better management of treatment side effects, in turn allowing longer administration of treatments and improved clinical outcomes.

While advantages of remote patient monitoring are es­tablished, translation into clinical practice must account for patient preferences, equity considerations, financial sustain­ability, and patient and provider education needs. In 2022, ACCC partnered with two patient advocacy groups, DiMe and LUNGevity, to conduct a patient survey to identify chal­lenges and benefits associated with wearable devices and other digital tools. Data were obtained from 90 patients with cancer and 72 caregivers. At the same time, ACCC conducted a sur­vey of cancer care team members (n = 128) to gauge provider and/or programmatic barriers to the integration of digital tools among their patient population. Below are key findings from these surveys.

When asked where they were in adoption of remote patient monitoring, 40% of cancer programs reported that they were “implementing or piloting” and 28% of cancer programs were “considering or planning” remote patient monitoring. Yet, 28% of cancer programs responded that they were “not consid­ering” adoption of this technology.

When asked if they use remote patient monitoring technol­ogy to track health information, patients and caregivers shared these responses:

• 42% of patients and 58% of caregivers said “yes.”

• 16% of patients and 13% of caregivers said “no, but they were considering.”

 • 40% of patients and 25% of caregivers said “no, and not considering.”

Providers, patients, and caregivers shared these benefits of using remote patient monitoring technology to share symp­toms with the health care team:

• 52% of providers and 40% of patients and caregivers shared that it “keeps the care team up to date on symptoms in between appointments.”

• 43% of providers and 31% of patients and caregivers said that it “alerts the care team if medical intervention is necessary.”

• 41% of providers and 17% of patients and caregivers shared that it “improves patient outcomes.”

• 33% of providers and 19% of patients and caregivers said that it “reduces risk of ER visits and hospitalizations.”

Providers shared that these types of remote patient monitoring technologies are used in their cancer programs or practices:

• 51% use questionnaires and surveys (eg, portal or app-based)

• 23% use messaging tools (eg, secure text, patient portal messaging)

• 14% use connected devices (eg, wearables and smart devices)

Most cancer programs and practices (70%) report having messaging tools and/or questionnaires and surveys available to track symptoms between appointments, even if they do not have a formal remote patient monitoring program.