Virtual palliative services can be as effective as in-person care in helping to improve quality of life among patients with lung cancer, recent research has found.
Though a growing volume of research is pointing to the quality impacts of palliative care utilization earlier in lung cancer patients’ disease progression, many lack access to these services, researchers recently indicated in a study published in the JAMA Network.
Increasing pathways to telepalliative services could help bridge these gaps without impacting quality, researchers believe.
“The delivery of early palliative care virtually versus in-person demonstrated equivalent effects on quality of life in patients with advanced [non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)],” researchers stated in the study. “[The] findings underscore the potential to increase access to evidence-based early palliative care through telehealth delivery.”
The study examined outcomes of 1,250 adults with advanced lung cancer receiving palliative care across 22 health care organizations in the United States from June 14, 2018 to May 4, 2023. The clinical trial study compared the outcomes of patients receiving in-person palliative services with those utilizing video visits.
Quality-of-life scores were equivalent between the virtual care and in-person groups, the study found. However, caregiver participation was lower in the video patient visits compared to in-person care.
Researchers did not find differences between the virtual and in-person groups when it came to patient and caregiver satisfaction. Additionally, the groups did not differ in patient coping, mood, symptoms or prognostic perceptions.
The findings were presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting and first reported in the American Journal of Managed Care. The study adds “critical evidence to support access to telehealth services, especially to vulnerable populations with serious illness,” said Joseph Greer, co-director of the Cancer Outcomes Research & Education Program at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
The findings come at a time when telehealth flexibilities implemented during the pandemic will soon end. Currently set to expire Dec. 31, palliative providers have been preparing for the sunset of telehealth waivers that allowed for expanded utilization of virtual care.
Congress is currently mulling legislation that could extend current telehealth regulations through 2026. Introduced in May, the Preserving Telehealth, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Act, would as of 2025 extend the flexibilities by two years. The bill has since stalled on the U.S. House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee floor.
Some palliative care providers have projected potentially disastrous impacts from the regulatory changes, with mounting concerns as they navigate an uncertain future around telehealth utilization.
Telehealth utilization for palliative care during the last decade has been associated with improved quality of life, patient satisfaction and symptom management. But geographic and regulatory barriers pose hurdles to further evaluation of telehealth’s efficacy.
