Erschienen in:
24.11.2021 | COVID-19 | Breast Oncology
The Breast Cancer Patient Experience of Telemedicine During COVID-19
verfasst von: Lina Cadili, MD, Kristin DeGirolamo, MD, FRCS, Crystal Suet-Ying Ma, Leo Chen, MSc, Elaine McKevitt, MD, FRCS, Jin-Si Pao, MD, FRCS, Carol Dingee, MD, FRCS, Amy Bazzarelli, MD, FRCS, Rebecca Warburton, MD, FRCS
Erschienen in: Annals of Surgical Oncology | Ausgabe 4/2022
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Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen major shifts in the delivery of health care across the world, including adoption of telemedicine. We present a survey of patient experience with telemedicine for the treatment of breast cancer.
Methods
A questionnaire designed to assess patient satisfaction with telemedicine was distributed to all patients who underwent surgery at the Providence Breast Centre (PBC) for breast cancer or benign/high-risk lesions with surgery follow-up dates between October 13 and December 31, 2020. Surveys were conducted via phone or at in-person follow-ups.
Results
A total of 123 of 172 (72%) eligible patients completed the survey; 85% of these patients enjoyed their telemedicine consultation, 93% found there was enough time for dialogue, 66% would choose to have a telemedicine consultation again, 79% would recommend telemedicine at PBC to a friend or family member, and 92% found Zoom© easy to use. When asked whether they prefer a telemedicine initial consultation over an in-person, 28% of patients agreed. When patients are analyzed according to their home address, those more than 10-km away from PBC prefer telemedicine over in-person appointments (37%) more often than those who live less than 10-km away (23%) (p = 0.045).
Conclusions
Patients report a high level of satisfaction with telemedicine. It may be worthwhile to continue telemedicine beyond the pandemic era, due to its convenience, efficiency, and low-cost while keeping patients, physicians, and office staff safe. It also may be more useful in large geographic areas, such as British Columbia to increase access to care.
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