Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2013
Improving access to specialist multidisciplinary palliative care consultation for rural cancer patients by videoconferencing: report of a pilot project.
Palliative care (PC) and palliative radiotherapy (RT) consultation are integral to the care of patients with advanced cancer. These services are not universally available in rural areas, and travel to urban centers to access them can be burdensome for patients and families. The objectives of our study were to assess the feasibility of using videoconferencing to provide specialist multidisciplinary PC and palliative RT consultation to cancer patients in rural areas and to explore symptom, cost, and satisfaction outcomes. ⋯ Delivery of specialist multidisciplinary PC consultation by videoconferencing is feasible, may improve symptoms, results in cost savings to patients and families, and is satisfactory to users.