Telehealth Progress Leads to Advancements in Outpatient GI Medical Oncology
Considering the need for care coordination within patients, particularly among those with comorbidities and health disparities, telehealth is a useful tool within the patient care space. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the (once underutilized) use of telehealth, bringing fourth the observation that care coordination was needed within oncology services.
The purpose of this study, presented at the 2021 ONS Congress, was to depict telehealth coordination initiatives aimed to increase patient satisfaction; decrease clinic volume and promote safety, decrease no-show rates, and meet/exceed the 20% benchmark for telehealth as a percentage of total encounters in the Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology Program.
In order to meet patient healthcare requirements through their cancer trajectory, the role of telehealth nurse care coordinator was created.
Following the assessment of Baseline data to examine telehealth utilization prior to COVID, healthcare patterns were identified. The coordinator used the data collected to create procedures that determined patient telehealth eligibility, scheduling, and obtaining external test results.
Furthermore, a role of a coordinator is responsible for training providers, nurses, and support staff on the process of telehealth, care coordination, as well as EHR integration of virtual platforms.
As a result of this telehealth initiative, an effective impact has been made by successfully fulfilling patient health care needs while reducing unsafe clinic volumes. Considering this initiative’s upward trajectory, this role can be applied to other oncology specialties within this cancer center and at other intuitions. -Alexis Hyams
