American family physician
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Telemedicine can provide patients with cost-effective, quality care. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has highlighted the need for alternative methods of delivering health care. Family physicians can benefit from using a standardized approach to evaluate and diagnose musculoskeletal issues via telemedicine visits. ⋯ Patients with a possible deformity or neurovascular compromise should be referred for urgent evaluation. Follow-up can be done virtually if the patient's condition is improving as expected. If the condition is worsening or not improving, the patient should have an in-office assessment, with consideration for referral to formal physical therapy or specialty services when appropriate.
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Targeted cancer therapies involve chemotherapeutic agents that attack, directly or indirectly, a specific genetic biomarker found in a given cancer. Targeted oncology includes monoclonal antibodies, small molecule inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates, and immunotherapy. For example, the monoclonal antibodies trastuzumab and pertuzumab target human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and are used when treating HER2-positive breast cancer. ⋯ Additionally, financial toxicities are a problem for patients with cancer who are using costly targeted therapies. Future directions for targeted oncology include tumor-agnostic drugs, which target a given mutation and could be used in treating cancers from multiple organ types. An overview of indications, mechanism of action, and toxicities of targeted cancer therapies is offered here.