BEYOND THE BUSH TELEGRAPH: TELEHEALTH FOR REMOTE CANCER CONTROL AND SUPPORT

Abstract

Telehealth includes diagnoses, consultations and treatment. The ability to practise telehealth is constantly being simplified by new technology. The analogue telephone system had some useful applications, however the addition of vision with videophones increased the social dimension of the interaction. Linking centres with digital lines enhanced the transfer of data, but carried the expense of installation and limited accessibility, especially in remote areas. Now with fast broadband technology individuals can videoconference using the internet or mobile phones. This should hasten the application of videoconferencing to telehealth. One response to the increasing complexity of multimodality cancer management is the formation of multidisciplinary teams. In rural areas teams can be formed by supplementing existing rural practitioners with experts from larger centres, using telehealth. Psychological support for patients and support for rural practitioners can also be delivered by videoconferencing. Other applications of telemedicine to oncology occur with transmission of pathology images and teleradiology. Remote radiotherapy planning can be achieved by transmitting a remote CT planning image to a planning computer in a tertiary centre. Robotic cancer surgery can be supervised from a distance. A challenge for telehealth is how to evaluate its effectiveness. Patient preferences will ultimately be important.