Remote digital monitoring cuts drug-related toxicities in cancer studies and reduces emergency department visits according to new research.
The study – published in Nature Medicine in April – was a controlled trial of a digital remote monitoring intervention (CAPRI) for cancer patients receiving oral anti-cancer therapy.
The idea was to see what impact digital tools had on adherence. Patients were randomized to receive additional follow-up with a nurse and a web portal, through a smartphone application as well as usual care, or only usual care.
Remote benefits
While there was no difference in response or survival between patients in the three groups, use of remote monitoring did show some advantages.
For example, the authors say, remote monitoring supports higher relative dose-intensity. Patients monitored remotely also had significantly fewer hospital admissions and emergency department visits.
“The CAPRI study, a digital, nurse navigator-led intervention, has been able to show a positive effect on the triple aims of healthcare interventions through an improvement of patient experience of care.”
Remote monitoring improved patient health– the occurrence of grade ≥3 drug-related toxicities fell from 36.9% to 27.6% - according to the authors, who said the reduction in days spent in hospital brought down healthcare costs.
“As far as medico-economic endpoints are concerned, the decrease in days of hospitalization associated with the CAPRI intervention appears critical,” the authors wrote.
Personal touch
The analysis is somewhat at odds with the findings of a separate study by Norwegian scientists published earlier this year.
While the research, by a team at the Department of Health, Welfare and Organization at Østfold University College, suggested remote monitoring had its benefits for cancer patients it also underlined the importance of person-to-person interaction with healthcare providers.
“All [patients] agreed that remote monitoring could never totally replace physical consultations in hospital. Participants’ views seemed to grow more positive over time, but still they emphasized both positive and negative aspects of remote monitoring solutions in cancer care.”
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