The COVID-19 pandemic has led to accelerated telehealth use among health services as it allowed healthcare to be delivered whilst reducing the potential viral exposure to patients and healthcare providers. This study, funded by Cancer Australia, investigates clinician's and consumer's experiences of telehealth for delivering cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic. It seeks to understand the barriers and enablers to telehealth uptake and the digital technologies mobilised during the pandemic, and that continue to be used.
A diverse mix of cancer services across Australia will be participating in a series of surveys and interviews about telehealth's use across cancer care pathways. Recommendations will be provided on ways in which gaps in services can be addressed, as well as where and how telehealth services can be integrated into cancer care models.
The project will also examine the 14 Multi-site Clinical Trials Groups funded by Cancer Australia to find out how video calls, remote patient monitoring, and other telehealth adaptations may have been involved in continuing to deliver clinical trials during the pandemic. It will identify the opportunities for expanding the reach of cancer clinical trials in the future by using telehealth.
