The role of telehealth in oncology care: A qualitative exploration of patient and clinician perspectives

Abstract

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rapid expansion of telehealth, affording opportunities to study its impact on oncology care. Our qualitative study explored physician and patient perspectives of telehealth in cancer care.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven physicians and eleven patients, recruited from an Australian hospital oncology department. Two authors independently coded the transcripts with emerging themes identified and refined iteratively in a thematic analysis.

Results: Telehealth offered broadened possibilities by allowing continuity of care in the pandemic and revealing advantages of convenience in consultations. It also highlighted core elements of in-person care that were unavailable. These included the information communicated through formal and informal physical examination, the collaboration between patient and physician in shaping outcomes and building rapport and the confidence in decisions made and physician performance. While patients and physicians envisioned the continuation of telehealth postpandemic, logistical steps are necessary to address these challenges.

Conclusion: This study highlights the unprecedented opportunities that telehealth presents in widening access to oncology care and simultaneously reveals that it cannot always reach equivalence in quality of care. Further research is required to identify when and for whom telehealth is most acceptable as future care models are considered.

Keywords: COVID-19; cancer care; models of care; qualitative; telehealth.