ArticleThe oncologist2024
Consuming Patients' Days: Time Spent on Ambulatory Appointments by People With Cancer.
Article in The oncologist, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Time toxicity in cancer care: a systematic review of definitions and measurement methods.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Cancer patients' experiences of "time toxicity": a qualitative meta-synthesis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Time toxicity among patients with cancer: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Beyond Device Safety: Organisational Burden and Quality of Life in Oncology Outpatients with PICCs. A Descriptive Exploratory Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Characterizing the Objective Time Spent on Health Care Activities in Clinic and at Home for Patients With Cancer.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Patient Out-of-Pocket Costs and Healthcare Utilization Related to Mastectomy vs Breast Conservation: A Claims-Based Study.Journal of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- The experience of time toxicity in cancer patients: a meta-synthesis of qualitative research.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Review
- Patient-reported time toxicity with bispecific antibody therapies in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.The oncologist · 2026Article
- Understanding financial toxicity in cancer care through a social-ecological lens.Current opinion in oncology · 2026Review
- Safety and Efficacy of Concomitant Administration of Nanoliposomal Irinotecan + 5-Fluorouracil/Levo-Leucovorin for Pancreatic Cancer.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Time toxicity during palliative chemotherapy for advanced malignancies: a prospective study.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2025Observational
- Characterizing and Addressing the Financial, Time, and Administrative Burdens of Cancer and its Care.Current treatment options in oncology · 2025Review
- Time Burden in Patients With Metastatic Breast and Ovarian Cancer from Clinic and Home Demands.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Measuring the Unseen Burden: Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy Reduce Treatment-Related Time Toxicity in Incurable Malignancies.World journal of oncology · 2025Article
- Digital information-seeking behaviors among cancer survivors: associations with sociodemographic determinants, cancer history, and perceived health.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2025Article
- Patient-, care partner-, and clinician-proposed solutions to address the time toxicity of cancer care.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Article
- Comparing the time spent in clinic by patients receiving, subcutaneous and intravenous formulations of cancer drugs: A pilot study.Journal of cancer policy · 2025Article
- Integrating mHealth Innovations into Decentralized Oncology Trials.Journal of medical systems · 2025Review
- Applying the unattainable triangle in cardio-oncology care: Balancing cost, quality, and time.Oncotarget · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn qualitative work, patients report that seemingly short trips to clinic (eg, a supposed 10-minute blood draw) often turn into "all-day affairs." We sought to quantify the time patients with cancer spend attending ambulatory appointments.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective study of patients scheduled for oncology-related ambulatory care (eg, labs, imaging, procedures, infusions, and clinician visits) at an academic cancer center over 1 week. The primary exposure was the ambulatory service type(s) (eg, clinician visit only, labs and infusion, etc.). We used Real-Time Location System badge data to calculate clinic times and estimated round-trip travel times and parking times. We calculated and summarized clinic and total (clinic + travel + parking) times for ambulatory service types.
resultsWe included 435 patients. Across all service day type(s), the median (IQR) clinic time was 119 (78-202) minutes. The estimated median (IQR) round-trip driving distance and travel time was 34 (17-49) miles and 50 (36-68) minutes. The median (IQR) parking time was 14 (12-15) minutes. Overall, the median (IQR) total time was 197 (143-287) minutes. The median total times for specific service type(s) included: 99 minutes for lab-only, 144 minutes for clinician visit only, and 278 minutes for labs, clinician visit, and infusion.
conclusionPatients often spent several hours pursuing ambulatory cancer care on a given day. Accounting for opportunity time costs and the coordination of activities around ambulatory care, these results highlight the substantial time burdens of cancer care, and support the notion that many days with ambulatory health care contact may represent "lost days."
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Registered trials
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.