Joshua Pritchett, Oncologist at Mayo Clinic, Advisor at the Rural Cancer Institute, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent article he and colleagues authored:
“Great to be in SF with you all at my first ASTRO American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) meeting.
Unfortunately, as our US Congress moves closer towards a government shutdown, I have rarely had the opportunity to present something so timely.
I have the honor of representing our incredible collaborative team from Stanford University School of Medicine and Mayo Clinic, sharing our work entitled ‘Telemedicine Trends in Radiation Oncology at Two Large Multi-Specialty Cancer Centers from 2019 to 2023‘.
In our study (link above), we demonstrate that while our institutions represent different geographic regions, catchment areas, patient demographics, and rural/urban landscapes, there is a common theme: telemedicine remains a fixture of care for many thousands of oncology patients cared for across these institutions.
As a reminder, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services telehealth flexibilities are scheduled to expire on September 30, 2025, unless further congressional action is taken. These temporary expansions include:
- Removal of geographic restrictions for telehealth services.
- Allowing Medicare beneficiaries to receive telehealth from their home.
- Enabling all eligible Medicare providers to provide telehealth services.
Our study confirms that removal of these protections will harm patients and reverse the significant advancements made in patient-centered cancer care delivery since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We urge Congress to avoid this shutdown and use this data to inform evidence-based, patient-centered policymaking.
Special thanks to my incredible co-investigative team:
Vijaya Parameswaran, Marci Miller, Jessica Grimm, Rachel Gullerud, MHA Winnie Fan Dan Gibbons, Beatriz Oyarzabal Julianne Lunde, MA Jordan C. Sarah Harper, MA, MBA, Leah Rosengaus Christopher Sharp Sumit Shah Erqi Liu Pollom Tufia Haddad, M.D. Bart Demaerschalk, FRCPC, David Routman, William Breen, Yasamin Sharifzadeh
Additional thanks to Wade Swenson and the ASCO advocacy team, who are working tirelessly to advocate for patient-centered care protections, alongside the American Telemedicine Association, Alliance for Connected Care, Rural Cancer Institute, and HIMSS.”
Title: Telemedicine Trends in Radiation Oncology at Two Large Multi-Specialty Cancer Centers from 2019 to 2023
Authors: V. Parameswaran, M. Miller, J. Grimm, R. Gullerud, W. Fan, D. Gibbons, B. Oyarzabal, J. Lunde, J. Coffey, S. Harper, L. Rosengaus, C. Sharp, S. Shah, E.L. Pollom, T. Haddad, B. Demaerschalk, D.M. Routman, W. Breen, Y. Sharifzadeh, J. Pritchett
Read the Full Article at International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
More posts featuring Radiation Oncology on OncoDaily.