Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, UT.
JCO Oncol Pract. 2020 Jul;16(7):e557-e562. doi: 10.1200/JOP.19.00764. Epub 2020 May 28.
A telehealth oncology practice was created to care for patients in rural communities to improve access to health care, decrease financial burdens, and save time.
Patients with cancer at Sevier Valley Hospital in Richfield, Utah, were treated with a real-time video-based telehealth program under the care of an oncologist at a tertiary medical center. Data on financial savings, travel hours, mileage avoided, carbon emissions reduced, and revenue retained by Sevier Valley Hospital were collected from 2015 to 2018.
From 2015 to 2018, 119 patients with cancer in Richfield, Utah, were treated with telehealth for oncology visits, accounting for 1,025 patient encounters. On average, patients saved 4 hours and 40 minutes and 332 miles roundtrip per encounter. In total, patients' savings were estimated to be $333,074. Carbon emissions were reduced by approximately 150,000 kg. Of new patient referrals, 59% were for solid tumors (70 of 119 referrals; 42 metastatic and 28 nonmetastatic cancers), and 41% were hematology consultations (49 of 119 referrals; 28 classical and 21 malignant hematologic conditions). We estimate that Sevier Valley Hospital retained $3,605,500 in revenue over this 4-year period.
Using a telehealth program in rural Utah, patients with cancer benefited from substantial time and monetary savings. The local medical center was able to retain revenue it would have otherwise lost to outsourcing cancer care. Recent regulatory changes to address the COVID-19 pandemic should increase the number of patients with cancer treated via telehealth nationwide.
创建远程肿瘤学实践，以照顾农村社区的患者，改善医疗保健的可及性，减轻经济负担并节省时间。
在犹他州里奇菲尔德的塞维尔谷医院，对癌症患者进行了实时视频远程医疗计划的治疗，该计划由三级医疗中心的肿瘤学家负责。从 2015 年到 2018 年，收集了塞维尔谷医院的财务节省，旅行时间，避免的里程，减少的碳排放量和保留的收入数据。
从 2015 年到 2018 年，犹他州里奇菲尔德的 119 名癌症患者通过远程医疗进行了肿瘤学就诊，共进行了 1025 次患者就诊。平均而言，每位患者每次就诊可节省 4 小时 40 分钟和 332 英里往返路程。总计，患者的节省额估计为 333,074 美元。碳排放量减少了约 150,000 千克。新患者转诊的 59％是实体瘤（119 例转诊中的 70 例；42 例转移性和 28 例非转移性癌症），41％是血液学咨询（119 例转诊中的 49 例；28 例经典和 21 例恶性血液病）。我们估计，在这 4 年中，塞维尔谷医院保留了 3605500 美元的收入。
在犹他州的农村地区使用远程医疗计划，癌症患者从大量的时间和金钱节省中受益。当地医疗中心能够保留本来会因将癌症护理外包而损失的收入。最近为应对 COVID-19 大流行而进行的监管改革应会增加全国范围内通过远程医疗治疗的癌症患者数量。
