Department of Internal Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, LA, United States.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Lady Hardinge Medical College & SSK Hospital, Delhi, India.
Cancer Treat Res Commun. 2021;27:100313. doi: 10.1016/j.ctarc.2021.100313. Epub 2021 Jan 15.
In the current era of COVID-19 pandemic where at least some degree of social distancing is the norm and hospitals have emerged as hotspots for acquiring the infection, it has become important for oncologists to devise methods of providing care to cancer patients while minimizing patients' exposure to healthcare settings. In light of the on-going pandemic, it has been recommended that in-patient visits for cancer patients should be substituted by virtual visits and patients should be advised to proceed directly for infusion treatment. Telemedicine and tele-health based interventions have emerged as reasonably practical solutions to these impediments in the delivery of care to cancer patients. Technological advancements have resolved the issue of connectivity for telemedicine even to the remotest places. Teleconsultation is becoming an acceptable alternative for patients and health care providers in this era of information technology. Albeit the challenges that we are facing are diverse and therefore cannot have a singular full proof answer, telemedicine and tele-health based interventions seem to offer promise in effectively complementing our efforts in that direction. Telemedicine is beneficial for both patients and doctors in term to provide quality care without shifting to physical location.
在当前 COVID-19 大流行的时代,至少需要一定程度的社交距离,医院成为感染的热点,肿瘤学家必须设计出在尽量减少患者接触医疗环境的情况下为癌症患者提供护理的方法。鉴于持续的大流行,已经建议将癌症患者的住院就诊改为虚拟就诊,并建议患者直接进行输液治疗。远程医疗和基于远程健康的干预措施已成为向癌症患者提供护理方面这些障碍的合理实用解决方案。技术进步解决了远程医疗的连接问题,即使是最偏远的地方也能实现连接。在信息技术时代,远程咨询正在成为患者和医疗保健提供者可以接受的替代方式。尽管我们面临的挑战是多种多样的,因此不能有一个单一的完整答案,但远程医疗和基于远程健康的干预措施似乎在有效补充我们在这方面的努力方面有一定的前景。远程医疗对患者和医生都有益,可以在不转移到物理位置的情况下提供高质量的护理。