Smartphone Based Telemedicine Service as an Acceptable Model of Care for Cancer Patients in Resource Limited Settings During COVID-19 Pandemic: An Observational Study

ABSTRACT

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic hampered the palliative care services due to the policies of nationwide lockdown, social distancing and patient triaging. Telemedicine can be a possible solution to overcome the hurdles of providing holistic care to cancer patients by minimising the visit of patients to the healthcare facility. Aim: The objective of the study was to evaluate and assess the feasibility of telemedicine as a tool to provide palliative care during the COVID-19 pandemic in resource limited setting. Design/Participants: A retrospective study was conducted to analyse the telemedicine service from 25 March 2020 to 30 June 2020. Patients who availed the teleconsultation services during this period were recruited. A smartphone-based 24/7 model for conducting audio-visual consultations was created whereby patients could interact with a trained palliative medicine physician. The study explored the reason for teleconsultation, main barriers for hospital visit, and patient satisfaction. Results: Out of the 547 patients, 462 (84.46%) utilised voice calling service. The major reason for not visiting the hospital was issues with transportation (48.8%) followed by fear of contracting COVID-19 (37.3%). The majority of the calls (63.62%) were regarding uncontrolled symptoms related to primary disease. 402 (73.49%) patients were very satisfied, and 399 (72.94%) decided to use telemedicine in future as well. Conclusion: Telemedicine is a helpful tool to provide integrated palliative care to cancer patients who are unable to visit hospitals regularly. This was observed to be especially useful during the pandemic in a resource limited setting.