In early 2020, telehealth was a hot new trend in patient care, but with utilization sporadic and episodic at best, providers were generally skeptical as to whether this virtual technique of delivering care was a viable option for advanced clinical services, especially in oncology.
Our attitude quickly changed as governments initiated COVID lockdowns across the country. Even though essential patient visits were allowed, including for cancer treatment, many patients became hesitant to travel outside the home—especially to a hospital.
Since cancer doesn’t wait, we were suddenly forced to incorporate telehealth into cancer care wherever possible to mitigate the risk of COVID transmission to patients. This new way of delivering care was adopted, utilized and valued—among patients and providers—within a few short weeks.
