The pandemic disrupted cancer treatments for millions of Americans, but it led health care providers to speed up efforts to shift care from hospitals and clinics to patients' homes.
Why it matters: Cancer patients at higher risk for infections and other complications could benefit from therapy and testing at home — and the care delivered in less intensive settings could also be cheaper.
The pandemic disrupted cancer treatments for millions of Americans, but it led health care providers to speed up efforts to shift care from hospitals and clinics to patients' homes.
Why it matters: Cancer patients at higher risk for infections and other complications could benefit from therapy and testing at home — and the care delivered in less intensive settings could also be cheaper.
The big picture: The pandemic delayed cancer screening, treatments and rehabilitation while causing supply shortages and diverting medical staff. Many patients fearing COVID-19 stayed away from clinics as their cancers worsened.
- There were an estimated 9.4 million missed cancer screening tests in 2020, per JAMA Oncology. The National Cancer Institute estimates there could be 10,000 more deaths from breast and colorectal cancers because of missed screenings.
- Faced with staffing shortages and an influx of COVID patients, medical systems began shifting minor cancer procedures — like diagnostics or installing chemotherapy ports — out of hospitals so they could reserve wards for the more complex cases.
- Doctors turned to telemedicine and remote home monitoring to reduce travel and the risk of infection for patients like those with blood cancers or bone marrow transplants.
- "What you’re seeing even in big cancer centers is movement to getting chemotherapy at home. A lot of things need to be figured out, but it’s already happening," said Arif Kamal, a Duke University professor of medicine and chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society.
Where it stands: The shift could continue after the pandemic ends. While cases are down and in-person screenings are picking up again, staffing shortages continue to cause delays at some infusion centers and can slow down getting second opinions and lab workups, clinicians say.
- Health workers quit in large numbers during the pandemic while many nurses moved to better-paying travel-nurse roles. That's left fewer experienced health care workers, especially in outlying areas.
- "We're still addressing issues where departments are short staffed and the ability to accommodate patients along optimal timelines is challenging," said Dax Kurbegov, vice president and physicianin chief of clinical programs at Sarah Cannon, the Cancer Institute of HCA Nashville.
The bottom line: The post-pandemic landscape may be built around providing more care outside big medical centers and expanded outreach by advocacy groups and physicians to get patients screened on time.
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April 03, 2022 at 01:09AM
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How COVID reshaped cancer care - Axios
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