Getting started: Using telehealth for cancer care
Learn how to plan and implement a hybrid cancer care program that uses telehealth and in-person services based on the needs of each patient.
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How is telehealth used for cancer care?
Depending on the service, cancer care teams may use video visits, audio-only visits, secure messages, and remote patient monitoring tools. Telehealth can support cancer care in the following ways:
- Prevention education. Provide tobacco use counseling, healthy eating and weight management coaching, and alcohol use counseling.
- Screening education. Explain which cancer screenings are recommended based on the patient’s age and risk factors. Telehealth visits can also help patients prepare for – and discuss results of – screening procedures such as colonoscopy, mammography, low dose CT scan for lung cancer screening, or cervical cancer screening.
- Consultations. Discuss a cancer diagnosis, review imaging or lab results, and talk through treatment options. A telehealth visit can also connect patients with specialists at other cancer centers for second opinions or clinical trial discussions.
- Treatment support. Walk patients and caregivers through what to expect from cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, or surgery. Telehealth visits can support pre-treatment planning.
- Symptom management. Assess symptoms and side effects like nausea, fatigue, depression and anxiety, and pain. Telehealth video visits can support visual assessment of rashes, wounds, or swelling. Monitoring symptoms with telehealth can help you adjust medications early and decide whether a patient needs to be seen in person.
- Palliative care. Use telehealth to discuss goals of care, monitor pain and symptom relief, and support patients and families.
- Follow-up care. Review test results, monitor for late and long-term effects of treatment, address post-treatment health needs, and promote healthy behaviors. Routine check-ins can often happen remotely.
- Care coordination. Connect patients with services commonly related to cancer care, including genetic counseling, behavioral health counseling, financial navigation, and rehabilitation, such as physical therapy. Telehealth can make it easier to arrange different services and keep primary care providers, oncology teams, and specialists informed.
- Remote patient monitoring. Use connected devices and patient-reported tools to collect health data such as symptoms, weight, blood pressure, and temperature between visits. Data collected between visits can help identify concerning trends, allow for earlier intervention, and inform future treatment decisions.
How does hybrid care support cancer care?
Hybrid care combines telehealth with in-person services. The patient and care team should decide which modality is appropriate for each visit. The decision may depend on the patient’s condition, whether a hands-on examination or procedure is needed, and patient preference.
Some cancer services that require an in-person visit include:
- Surgery, biopsy, or other procedures
- Physical exams
- Chemotherapy infusions
- Radiation therapy
- Imaging and laboratory testing
Other services may be appropriate either through telehealth or in person. This includes:
- New consultations and consultations with specialists or second opinions
- Genetic counseling
- Health behavior counseling
- Psycho-oncology services
- Financial navigation services
- Results discussion
- Medication management
- Clinical trials enrollment and informed consent procedures
What are the benefits of using telehealth for cancer care?
There are several benefits of using telehealth technology for cancer care. Telehealth may:
- Expand access to specialists and second opinions
- Reduce unnecessary travel and time away from home and work responsibilities
- Increase patient engagement between visits
- Support caregiver participation in treatment
- Improve patient education
- Reduce exposure to respiratory viruses
How can providers prepare a telehealth cancer program?
Before taking the first steps to create a tele-oncology program, it is important to define the program’s scope, incorporate telehealth into workflows, prepare staff, and establish procedures. Key considerations include:
- Define the program’s scope. Identify the patients and services the program will support. Consider what patient or organizational needs the program will address, which cancer services will be offered through telehealth, which services require in-person care, the modality of telehealth you will use, and what outcomes will be measured. Consider starting with a small group of services and expanding based on feedback and results.
- Design the workflow. Determine how telehealth will be incorporated into scheduling, check-in, orders, referrals, billing, and follow-up.
- Prepare the cancer care team. Define the responsibilities across clinical, administrative, billing, and IT staff, and train them on the telehealth workflow. This includes providing education on selecting the appropriate care setting and modality, scheduling, technology support, privacy, documentation, and follow-up.
- Select technology. Choose user-friendly technology that supports clinical workflows, patient portal linkages, and electronic health record (EHR) integration.
- Support patients. Provide technology training and address device or connectivity issues when they arise. It may be helpful to offer audio-only or in-person care when needed.
- Confirm legal, regulatory, and payment requirements. Verify licensure, consent, prescribing, privacy, documentation, and payer requirements for each service and modality. Confirm and document the patient’s location at every visit and review payer policies.
- Establish partnerships. Coordinate with primary care and oncology practices, laboratories, pharmacies, and treatment centers. Define each partner’s responsibilities, referral processes, and points of contact.
- Evaluate the program. Track measures such as completed visits, wait times, technology challenges, response times, patient experience and satisfaction, and clinical outcomes. Review results regularly and update processes to improve the program.
More information:
Planning your telehealth workflow — Health Resources and Services Administration
Using telehealth in hybrid care — Health Resources and Services Administration
Privacy and security for telehealth — Health Resources and Services Administration
Licensing across state lines — Health Resources and Services Administration