Outpatient Palliative Care Practice for Cancer Patients During COVID-19 Pandemic: Benefits and Barriers of Using Telemedicine

Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2021 Mar 4:1049909121997358. doi: 10.1177/1049909121997358. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way outpatient palliative care providers deliver care for patients and their families. Operational changes such as the reduction of in-person care to minimize the risk of exposure is a way healthcare has adjusted to the pandemic. Our New York City-based outpatient palliative care practice is embedded in oncology. Adopting telemedicine was an essential tool to continue providing comprehensive palliative care to vulnerable oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe a case illustrating the benefits and barriers of telemedicine in the care of an oncology patient in the outpatient palliative care setting.

PMID:33657873 | DOI:10.1177/1049909121997358