BACKGROUND
The onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic changed the landscape of oncology practice and placed tele-oncology at the center of cancer care delivery. As tele-oncology will likely remain a key part of cancer care delivery, healthcare organizations need to determine how to implement tele-oncology programs.
OBJECTIVE
We conducted an instrumental case study at a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center that successfully implemented tele-oncology.
METHODS
Data were collected from three sources between June 2020–February 2022. We conducted semi-structured interviews among clinicians directly involved in implementing and/or managing tele-oncology and surveys of administrators of the center’s tele-oncology and clinicians who used the program. Document analysis of implementation deliverables was also analyzed. Data collection and analyses were guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. We used the Implementation Research Logic Model to develop a framework depicting determinants and key steps for implementing tele-oncology.
RESULTS
We interviewed 40 clinicians. Of 364 employees invited to complete online surveys, 151 (41.5%) responded. We found that hospitals should: 1) adopt an easy-to-use and adaptable platform to deliver tele-oncology; 2) build a multidisciplinary tele-oncology team to provide the administrative, legal, workflow, and clinical support; 3) provide training and resources to ensure all team members can complete their responsibilities; 4) identify early adopters, departments, and clinicians with successful experiences; 5) evaluate clinical and implementation outcomes frequently; 6) advocate for policies that are supportive of tele-oncology in the future.
CONCLUSIONS
We presented the tele-oncology implementation framework that can be used by hospitals to implement tele-oncology.
CLINICALTRIAL
N/A