Tag Archive for: in-person care

How Has Telemedicine Impacted Head and Neck Cancer Clinical Trials?

How Has Telemedicine Impacted Head and Neck Cancer Clinical Trials? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

How have head and neck cancer clinical trials been impacted by telemedicine? Watch as expert Dr. Samantha Tamfrom Henry Ford Health System provides her perspective on scenarios when telemedicine can improve clinical trial access and how care disparities can be changed through the use of telemedicine access.

See More From The Head & Neck Cancer TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

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Transcript:

Samantha Tam, MD, FRCSC, MPH: 

While I don’t have specific data on how clinical trial participation has been impacted through telemedicine, I believe that the impact would be several ways, one is that patients that might not be able to access in-person care at a certain center may be introduced to an interesting clinical trial and therefore seek care at a specific center based on that clinical trial, but also there may be patients that might not be able to access the clinical trial because they have not been able to access in-person care at those centers. My current research is not so much in the clinical trials realm, but more exploratory currently, and looking at how we can empower communities that may be at an disadvantage to access telemedicine and virtual care, especially in these times when all institutions have been moving more towards using technology in their delivery of care, so as to ensure that patients are not left behind just because of their potential disadvantages.

When Should Head and Neck Cancer Patients Seek In-Person Care?

When Should Head and Neck Cancer Patients Seek In-Person Care? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What are instances for head and neck cancer patients to seek in-person visits for care? Watch as expert Dr. Samantha Tam from Henry Ford Health System explains situations that warrant in-person visits to care providers and her recommended precautions to ensure optimal safety for in-person care. 

See More From The Head & Neck Cancer TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

Related Resources:


Transcript:

Samantha Tam, MD, FRCSC, MPH: 

So to protect yourself from the Delta variant of coronavirus, one of the most important steps would be for vaccination and also following national guidelines in terms of how to protect yourself generally, like good hand hygiene, mask wearing, et cetera, et cetera, in terms of trying to seek care virtually versus in-person, patients should discuss this with their provider to see exactly what they are comfortable with, some post-operative visits might be able to be moved to a virtual platform, but again, sometimes it is difficult to examine patients with…that have undergone complex head and neck cancer surgery on a virtual platform adequately. So I think that a one-on-one discussion with your provider should give you a good idea about what can be moved in-person onto a virtual platform, and that way you can ensure that you have the adequate amount of care that you need for your head and neck cancer. 

Okay. Seeking in-person care, I think is especially important for patients that are having symptoms from their head and neck cancer, these patients are the ones that I would consider at highest risk for some type of abnormality on physical examination that we might not be able to catch on a virtual platform, and patients that are far out from surveillance and well into survivorship, these visits might be less necessary to be in person. So again, I think it’s important for you to discuss with your provider regarding whether or not they think that you need to be seen in person versus virtually.