Qanoot Haleem
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Hannah McLaughlin
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology / Medicine
Program: UROP
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Authors: Qanoot Haleem, Hannah McLaughlin
Abstract
Introduction: The usage of virtual care has significantly increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in gynecologic oncology. In order to offer insight into the future direction of telemedicine, this review focuses on telemedicine use in gynecologic oncology with an emphasis on patient and provider satisfaction, visit types, and equitable utilization. Methods: The PubMed database was searched for studies using the following key terms: gynecologic oncology, gynecologic cancer, gynecologic malignancy, telehealth, telemedicine, and virtual care. We included studies that focused on telemedicine in gynecologic oncology and were published in English after the year 2000. We excluded studies that did not focus on gynecologic oncology or did not use telemedicine. This abstract highlights three key themes – patient and provider satisfaction, visit types, and the sociodemographic information of patients that use telemedicine. Results: A total of 248 articles were identified with 37 articles being eliminated after applying initial exclusion criteria. We excluded an additional 193 articles after screening, leaving 18 articles. One was unavailable and two additional commentaries were excluded, leaving 16 studies in our review. This abstract focuses on 8 publications out of 16 research that look at sociodemographics, visit type, and patient/provider satisfaction characteristics related to telemedicine use. The review indicated that telemedicine was welcomed by patients and healthcare professionals for various visit types, such as clinical trial visits and surveillance visits. Telemedicine was advantageous for patients across different socioeconomic levels. Discussion/conclusions: Telemedicine is a useful and effective way to provide medical care in gynecologic oncology and satisfies patients and providers. Particularly in regions with limited access to specialized treatment, telemedicine has the potential to improve the quality of care provided to patients with gynecologic cancer. Areas of need are effective implementation methods and expanding the reach to a variety of patients.
