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Review
. 2020 Sep 2:3:113.
doi: 10.1038/s41746-020-00321-3. eCollection 2020.

Virtual care models for cancer survivorship

Quynh Pham  1   2 , Jason Hearn  1   3 , Bruce Gao  4 , Ian Brown  5   6 , Robert J Hamilton  4   7 , Alejandro Berlin  8   9 , Joseph A Cafazzo  1   2 , Andrew Feifer  4   10
Affiliations
Review

Virtual care models for cancer survivorship

Quynh Pham et al. NPJ Digit Med. .

Abstract

Virtual care models for cancer survivorship are needed to support patients living with the chronic effects of cancer treatment, while increasing health system capacity. Characteristics that may be critical to their success have not been adequately studied. This scoping review summarizes previous efforts to virtualize survivorship care to inform future innovations in the field. Four databases were searched for articles published before January 2020, and 24 articles that met selection criteria were included in this analysis. Rationale for pursuing virtual models of care shared two common objectives: (1) the need for sustainable survivorship care, and (2) the opportunity to improve survivorship outcomes. Breast cancer (N = 10) and prostate cancer (N = 4) were the most targeted cancers for virtual survivorship care. The implemented technologies included web platforms (N = 15), telephone calls (N = 12), and smartphone or tablet applications (N = 5). A variety of healthcare professionals were effectively involved in the provision of virtual care. Future virtual care models may benefit from integrating with existing health systems and services, repurposing common technologies, involving allied health professionals, and engaging patients and caregivers from diverse communities in the design of virtual services.

Keywords: Cancer models; Health services; Translational research.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing InterestsAll authors are involved in the design, development, and evaluation of the Ned prostate cancer survivorship platform described in the manuscript. J.A.C. and A.F. own intellectual property rights to Ned and are entitled to personally benefit from any commercial use of the intellectual property.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram summarizing study selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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