TY  - JOUR
AU  - O'Cathail, Micheal
AU  - Aznar-Garcia, Luis
AU  - Sivanandan, Ananth
AU  - Diver, Claire
AU  - Patel, Poulam
AU  - Tang, Pui-Shan
AU  - Christian, Judith
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/2/5
TI  - Use of Teleconsultations in a Regional Stereotactic Radiosurgery Service: Pilot Study
JO  - JMIR Form Res
SP  - e15598
VL  - 5
IS  - 2
KW  - telemedicine
KW  - teleconsultations
KW  - brain metastases
KW  - stereotactic radiosurgery
KW  - mobile phone
AB  - Background: The National Health Service Long Term Plan details plans to make digital interactions available to all patients in 5 years. Teleconsultations can improve access to specialist services; however, there is a lack of evidence for the use of teleconsultations in an oncology setting in the United Kingdom. Objective: We aim to describe a service evaluation of teleconsultations for patients attending a regional brain metastases clinic. These patients have unique travel restrictions that prevent them from driving. Methods: From April to October 2018, all patients attending the brain metastases clinic were offered the choice of teleconsultation in place of a face-to-face appointment. Feedback was assessed using a satisfaction questionnaire, and data of all clinic attendances were collected. Results: A total of 69 individual patients had 119 appointments over the duration of the pilot, of which 36 (30.2%) were new patient appointments and 73 (61.3%) were follow-ups. Of the 69 patients, 24 (35%) took part in teleconsultations (41/119, 34.5%). User satisfaction was high, and no patients who took part in a teleconsultation reverted to face-to-face appointments. These patients avoided 2521 miles (61.6 miles per appointment) of hospital-associated travel and travel costs of £441.48 (US $599.83) to £10.78 (US $14.65) per appointment. Conclusions: Teleconsultations appear to be acceptable in this cohort of patients with brain metastases attending a regional stereotactic radiosurgery service with the potential for significant savings in travel and expenses. 
SN  - 2561-326X
UR  - http://formative.jmir.org/2021/2/e15598/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/15598
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33544082
DO  - 10.2196/15598
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/15598
ER  -