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Digital Tools

Patients with cancer experience a wide range of side effects, with many experiencing adverse events during the course of their cancer treatment. Yet, it is shown that physicians often report adverse events during cancer treatments at a lower score than patients, sometimes leading to symptoms going undetected by providers until they become severe and debilitating. One solution to this issue is the use of digital tools to monitor patients with cancer for side effects and adverse events and collect patient reported outcomes (PROs).

Use of digital tools to collect PROs and monitor symptoms can improve the identification and treatment of adverse events, leading to improvements in patient safety, quality of life, and clinical outcomes. Ensuring that all patients and caregivers receive appropriate training on the use of digital tools can help to reduce inequities among those with lower digital literacy. Additionally, cancer programs that provide an infrastructure that includes Wi-Fi can help address the digital divide.

Digital Tools in Cancer Care

In Phase I of this educational program, ACCC researched the current clinical practice landscape, which then informed the development of patient, caregiver, and provider surveys. ACCC partnered with two patient advocacy groups, DiMe and LUNGevity, to conduct the patient survey to identify challenges and benefits associated with wearable devices and other digital tools. Data were obtained from 90 patients with cancer and 72 caregivers . At the same time, ACCC conducted a survey of cancer care team members (n=128) to gauge provider and/or programmatic barriers to the integration of digital tools among their patient population.

This Infographic highlights key findings from the ACCC Digital Tools in Cancer Care survey.
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What We Learned

Remote patient monitoring is a type of telehealth that allows patients to share data about their health with their care team in between clinic visits, including symptoms and vitals. For the purposes of these surveys, ACCC measured patient, caregiver, and provider perceptions and adoption of messaging tools, electronic questionnaires, and connected devices used to track and monitor symptoms throughout cancer treatment.

Podcast

David Penberthy, MD, MBA, ACCC Immediate Past President and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Penn State Health, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, discussed key survey findings in a CANCER BUZZ podcast. "Using digital tools can actually help facilitate patient engagement with the healthcare team—hopefully keeping people out of the hospital and intervening earlier so we can achieve more of what we’re trying to achieve of maintaining health as opposed to just reacting to illness."

Key Highlights from an ACCC Survey on Remote Patient Monitoring — [MINI PODCAST] EP 113 May 23, 2023
In 2022, ACCC conducted a survey to measure patient, caregiver, and provider perceptions and adoption of messaging tools, electronic questionnaires, and connected devices used to track and monitor symptoms during cancer treatment.