Onco Teleconsultation
The National Cancer Grid - Koita Centre for Digital Oncology (NCG-KCDO) is leveraging the potential of telemedicine to bridge the gap in access to quality cancer care, especially in underserved regions, through the TeleHealth initiative. This initiative focuses on remote oncology consultations, ensuring patients receive timely expert advice and treatment, regardless of their location.
Initiative
There are a lot of technology platforms available, yet the adoption of telehealth is not significant. The key contributor to this is the amount of time that a doctor has to spend over a teleconsult which is not the case in a physical environment given the availability of support in the form of medical residents and trained staff to assist. Our intention through this initiative is to replicate that physical environment in which a clinical assistant (trained nurse/doctor) will summarize important patient information on the tech platform and ensure all necessary reports and patients medical history is available in an organized manner to enable a quick review by the Oncologist. The selected tech platform will be customized to create oncology specific workflows and templates to provide efficiency and improved user experience.
2 implementation models are currently being piloted under this initiative - a direct to patient model and an assisted model.
Pilot 1 - Direct to Patient Model
This pilot includes 5 doctors across 3 departments that will conduct teleconsultations using the newly designed operating process and tech platform. It aims to streamline remote consultations, ensuring healthcare providers can deliver timely care while reducing burnout. Through the development of a flexible and scalable operating model, this initiative will improve the efficiency of cancer consultations. The insights gained from this pilot will shape a robust framework that can be implemented across the country, offering a scalable solution for remote oncology care.
Pilot 2 - Assisted Model
This pilot will leverage the existing 10BedICU infrastructure that came into existence during Covid19. It will be a year-long pilot, which will follow a hub-and-spoke model, with a tertiary care center acting as the hub and some district hospitals as the spokes. This project ensures real-time consultations between local healthcare providers and specialists, highly improving the quality of care. Moreover, this project goes beyond just consultations for improving patient outcomes; it empowers local healthcare providers by building their capacity to manage cancer cases independently. The outcome of this pilot will be a teleconsulting operating model and technology customization developed for a wider roll out across the 10BedICU network.
Key Benefits
Looking ahead, NCG-KCDO’s National TeleHealth Initiative aims to develop a nationwide teleconsultation framework that addresses both current challenges and future needs. It is designed to:
- Expand Access: Provide specialized cancer care to patients in remote and underserved areas.
- Empower Local Providers: Train local healthcare professionals to effectively manage oncology cases with the support of telemedicine technology.
- Scale Nationally: Build a flexible, scalable teleconsultation system that can adapt to the diverse healthcare needs of the country.
Future Implementation
By adopting this initiative, hospitals will be at the forefront of a movement that is revolutionizing cancer care. They will gain access to cutting-edge technology, expert consultations, and a framework that enhances local healthcare providers' capacity to offer quality care.
Together, we can ensure that every patient, regardless of location, receives the best possible cancer care.