Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37930181›Full record

ArticleCancer medicine2023

Telehealth follow-up consultations for melanoma patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: Patient and clinician satisfaction.

Ali Al-Rikaby, Ahmad Sulaiman, Jake R Thompson, Robyn P M Saw, Frances Boyle, Nicole Taylor, Matteo S Carlino, Rachael L Morton, Omgo E Nieweg, John F Thompson and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Ali Al-RikabyFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Ahmad SulaimanMelanoma Institute Australia, The University of Sydney, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Jake R ThompsonFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0823-3218
Robyn P M SawFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Frances BoyleFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Nicole TaylorDepartment of Medical Oncology, Westmead and Blacktown Hospitals, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Matteo S CarlinoFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Rachael L MortonMelanoma Institute Australia, The University of Sydney, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Omgo E NiewegMelanoma Institute Australia, The University of Sydney, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
John F ThompsonFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Iris BartulaFaculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4084-4115
The University of Sydney · AUBlacktown & Mount Druitt Hospital · AU

Funding

Friends of The Mater FoundationNational Health and Medical Research Council 1194703The Bill and Patricia Ritchie FoundationUniversity of Sydney Robinson Fellowship
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe COVID-19 pandemic caused rapid implementation of telehealth for melanoma follow-up care in Australia. This study explores Australian melanoma patients and clinicians' level of satisfaction with telehealth.

methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted across three specialist melanoma centres in Sydney, Australia. Melanoma patients (all stages) and clinicians completed mixed methods surveys seeking socio-demographic and clinical information and questionnaires to assess satisfaction with telehealth. Additionally, patients completed measures of quality of life, fear of cancer recurrence and trust in their oncologist. Patients and clinicians provided open-ended responses to qualitative questions about their perceptions of telehealth.

resultsOne hundred and fifteen patients and 13 clinicians responded to surveys. Telephone was used by 109 (95%) patients and 11 (85%) clinicians. Fifty-seven (50%) patients and nine (69%) clinicians preferred face-to-face consultations, 38 (33%) patients and 3 (23%) clinicians preferred a combination of face-to-face and telehealth consultations. Five (4%) patients and nil clinicians preferred telehealth consultations. Patients diagnosed with early-stage melanoma, using telehealth for the first time, who have lower trust in their oncologist, and having higher care delivery, communication and supportive care concerns were likely to report lower satisfaction with telehealth. Open-ended responses were consistent between patients and clinicians, who reported safety, convenience and improved access to care as major benefits, while identifying personal, interpersonal, clinical and system-related disadvantages. DISCUSSION: While telehealth has been widely implemented during COVID-19, the benefits identified by patients and clinicians may extend past the pandemic. Telehealth may be considered for use in conjunction with face-to-face consultations to provide melanoma follow-up care.

Indexed as

COVID-19MelanomaTelemedicineAustraliaCross-Sectional StudiesFollow-Up StudiesHumansPandemicsPatient SatisfactionPersonal SatisfactionQuality of LifeReferral and ConsultationCOVID-19melanomasatisfactionsupportive caretelehealth

Identifiers

PMID37930181
PMCPMC10726917
OpenAlexW4388411600

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.