ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2825

Interdisciplinary - Health economics & health services research

ESTRO 2024

subject prior to the pandemic and the significant growth during and post-pandemic. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, teleconsultations ensured that oncology patients continued to receive care, preventing loss of follow-up and deterioration of clinical outcomes. One of the key advantages of telemedicine is ensuring access to radiotherapy and, in less developed countries like Brazil, this technology provide access to quality radiotherapy services as close to the patient's location as possible. Telemedicine also offers advantages in terms of scheduling and attendance, especially for elderly and highly dependent patients. It eliminates logistical barriers, thereby reducing the time between patient referral and evaluation by the radiotherapy team, with faster initiation of treatment, reducing anxiety levels, and enhancing overall satisfaction. Other benefits include cost savings, improved communication, reduced travel time. For certain types of cancer (e.g., central nervous system, lung, gastrointestinal), where a physical examination is not crucial for evaluating treatment response and follow-up, telemedicine is considered a safe alternative. It also presents some challenges: technical issues, concerns related to internet access and connectivity, costs associated with implementing these technologies and the need for training and support for both healthcare professionals and patients are also significant considerations. ther challenges include technical, legal, and reimbursement issues. In 2022, the radiotherapy department scheduled 467 telemedicine consultations, constituting 4.5% of their total medical consultations for the year. Telemedicine was primarily utilized for follow-up consultations, with particular emphasis on cases of urological and central nervous system tumors. Video calls were the primary mode of teleconsultation, except for one professional who utilized phone calls due to technological constraints. Among the scheduled patients, 67.23% were male, and the median age was 65.5 years. The most common primary site was prostate cancer (49,67%), followed by lung (16,7%) and breast cancer (8,56%). The telemedicine abstention rate was only 10.06%, notably lower than typical in-person consultation rates. The main reasons for non-attendance included in-person visits (27,65%) and missed video or phone calls (59,57%). Overall, patient satisfaction with telemedicine consultations was exceptionally high, with 97.54% rating the service with a score of 7 or higher.

Conclusion:

This study concludes that telemedicine in radiotherapy assumes a pivotal role as a novel healthcare model, garnering high levels of satisfaction from both patients and healthcare professionals. This affirms its preeminent significance, even in the post-pandemic era. The experiential report validates the efficacy of teleconsultation, particularly in the context of follow-up care, while also highlighting both the potential and challenges inherent in this mode of care delivery. It serves as a model for guiding the implementation of a telemedicine service in radiotherapy.