Telehealth Utilization in Neuro-Oncology: Commentary on a Single Institution Experience After the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory and reimbursement policy changes provided patients improved access to neuro-oncology by telehealth. Here we discuss benefits and limitations of telehealth use in neuro-oncology. We review utilization of telemedicine services following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recent Findings: Utilization of telemedicine by neuro-oncology during the COVID-19 pandemic was 52%, compared to 27-29% for other solid tumors groups. Following the pandemic, between January 2021 and April 2024, telehealth utilization has remained high in neuro-oncology with approximately 30% of all visits completed by telemedicine, compared to 10-15% for other solid tumor groups. The striking difference between telehealth visit utilization in neuro-oncology and general medical oncology even after expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency expiration and end of pandemic-related restrictions, underscores the potential value of convenient access to care for patients with central nervous system tumors. Given widespread use of telehealth in neuro-oncology, prospective evaluation to determine the safety, usability, and acceptance of video-enabled, telehealth visits is critical. Such data may lead to broader adoption of telehealth, lead to regulatory and reimbursement reform for telehealth sustainability, and improve clinical trial access and accruals.
Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing Interests: Joshua Pritchett has nothing to disclose. Joon Uhm has nothing to disclose. Ugur Sener has served on an advisory board for Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC; unrelated to this work. Tufa Haddad has received research grant funding from Takeda Oncology (Institutional) and served on an advisory board for Puma Biotechnology (no personal compensation); both are unrelated to this work. Conflict of Interest: Joshua Pritchett has nothing to disclose. Joon Uhm has nothing to disclose. Ugur Sener has served on an advisory board for Servier Pharmaceuticals LLC; unrelated to this work. Tufa Haddad has received research grant funding from Takeda Oncology (Institutional) and served on an advisory board for Puma Biotechnology (no personal compensation); both are unrelated to this work.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)