@Article{info:doi/10.2196/19322,
author="Lonergan, Peter E
and Washington III, Samuel L
and Branagan, Linda
and Gleason, Nathaniel
and Pruthi, Raj S
and Carroll, Peter R
and Odisho, Anobel Y",
title="Rapid Utilization of Telehealth in a Comprehensive Cancer Center as a Response to COVID-19: Cross-Sectional Analysis",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2020",
month="Jul",
day="6",
volume="22",
number="7",
pages="e19322",
keywords="health informatics; telehealth; video visits; COVID-19; video consultation; pandemic; electronic health record; EHR",
abstract="Background: The emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in March 2020 created unprecedented challenges in the provision of scheduled ambulatory cancer care. As a result, there has been a renewed focus on video-based telehealth consultations as a means to continue ambulatory care. Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the change in video visit volume at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Comprehensive Cancer Center in response to COVID-19 and compare patient demographics and appointment data from January 1, 2020, and in the 11 weeks after the transition to video visits. Methods: Patient demographics and appointment data (dates, visit types, and departments) were extracted from the electronic health record reporting database. Video visits were performed using a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)-compliant video conferencing platform with a pre-existing workflow. Results: In 17 departments and divisions at the UCSF Cancer Center, 2284 video visits were performed in the 11 weeks before COVID-19 changes were implemented (mean 208, SD 75 per week) and 12,946 video visits were performed in the 11-week post--COVID-19 period (mean 1177, SD 120 per week). The proportion of video visits increased from 7{\%}-18{\%} to 54{\%}-72{\%}, between the pre-- and post--COVID-19 periods without any disparity based on race/ethnicity, primary language, or payor. Conclusions: In a remarkably brief period of time, we rapidly scaled the utilization of telehealth in response to COVID-19 and maintained access to complex oncologic care at a time of social distancing. ",
issn="1438-8871",
doi="10.2196/19322",
url="https://www.jmir.org/2020/7/e19322",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/19322",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32568721"
}