Operational feasibility and impact of a digital platform for symptom management in oncology: A real-world healthcare provider perspective.

e13724 Background: Digital health technologies are emerging as valuable tools for enhancing patient monitoring, improving operational efficiency, and delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. Evaluating their effectiveness in real-world healthcare settings is essential to understanding their impact. We aimed to assess the operational feasibility and impact of a mHealth ePRO platform (ThummiOnco) for telemonitoring cancer patients. Methods: This prospective pilot study included patients (pts) aged > 18 years undergoing systemic treatment for cancer at a major private healthcare provider in Brazil. Eligible patients (pts) were identified through an automated, AI-driven screening process using the provider's database. Telemonitoring was conducted by nursing navigators, following a standard protocol. Medical oncologist consultations were arranged as clinically required. Baseline characteristics were collected. Operational feasibility was assessed using key performance indicators, including: patient activation rate (PAR) – e.g., proportion of pts who completed onboarding; engagement rate (ER) – e.g., proportion of pts actively interacting with the platform in the last month; net promoter score (NPS); and healthcare resource utilization (HRU) – e.g., proportion of pts experiencing critical events (hospitalizations, emergency visits) in the past 30 days, by risk level. HRU metrics were compared to a reference group (identified via AI database screening) and historical cross-institutional benchmarks. Descriptive statistics were performed. Results: Between June 2023 to October 2023, 26 pts were enrolled. The median age was 50 years (range: 24-74 years). Most pts were female (n = 14, 65.4%), had breast cancer (n = 8, 30.8%), presented with advanced disease (stages III-IV; n = 17, 73.7%), and were receiving chemotherapy (n = 13, 50%). A total of 108 symptoms were reported, mostly grade I-II (n = 87, 80.5%), with fatigue (n = 16, 14.8%) and joint pain (n = 12, 11.1%) being the most common. The majority of symptoms (n = 104, 96.3%) were resolved exclusively by the nursing team. The PAR was 68.5%, while the ER and NPS were 65.4% and 66.7%, respectively. Regarding HRU, the distribution across risk levels was 73.7% low, 10.5% moderate, 5.3% high, and 10.5% critical. When compared to the reference group, there was a reduction of 3.7% in the high-risk group (9% to 5.3%) and 6.7% in the critical-risk group (17.2% to 10.5%). The overall hospitalization rate was 8%, a 2.4% reduction compared to the cross-institutional benchmark (10.4%). Conclusions: The platform demonstrated high patient activation and engagement rates, with most symptoms being resolved by the nursing team alone. HRU rates were lower compared to the provider's historical benchmarks. Large-scale clinical trials are needed to validate the platform and further strengthen its evidence base.

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Journal
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Published
2025-05-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2025.43.16_suppl.e13724
Primary Topic
Economic and Financial Impacts of Cancer
Type
article
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article

Operational feasibility and impact of a digital platform for symptom management in oncology: A real-world healthcare provider perspective.

Madalena Cunha, Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães Pereira, Donald J. Johann, Frederico Santos et al.
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Economic and Financial Impacts of Cancer
article

Operational feasibility and impact of a digital platform for symptom management in oncology: A real-world healthcare provider perspective.

Madalena Cunha, Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães Pereira, Donald J. Johann, Frederico Santos, Alessandra Morelle, Simone Bassani Fardo, Matheus Soares Rocha, Carlos H. Barrios, M Correa, Bruna Carolina Barbosa Freitas, Sabrina Floriani, Jaqueline Bardini, Higor dos Santos Alves
article en

Abstract

e13724 Background: Digital health technologies are emerging as valuable tools for enhancing patient monitoring, improving operational efficiency, and delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. Evaluating their effectiveness in real-world healthcare settings is essential to understanding their impact. We aimed to assess the operational feasibility and impact of a mHealth ePRO platform (ThummiOnco) for telemonitoring cancer patients. Methods: This prospective pilot study included patients (pts) aged > 18 years undergoing systemic treatment for cancer at a major private healthcare provider in Brazil. Eligible patients (pts) were identified through an automated, AI-driven screening process using the provider's database. Telemonitoring was conducted by nursing navigators, following a standard protocol. Medical oncologist consultations were arranged as clinically required. Baseline characteristics were collected. Operational feasibility was assessed using key performance indicators, including: patient activation rate (PAR) – e.g., proportion of pts who completed onboarding; engagement rate (ER) – e.g., proportion of pts actively interacting with the platform in the last month; net promoter score (NPS); and healthcare resource utilization (HRU) – e.g., proportion of pts experiencing critical events (hospitalizations, emergency visits) in the past 30 days, by risk level. HRU metrics were compared to a reference group (identified via AI database screening) and historical cross-institutional benchmarks. Descriptive statistics were performed. Results: Between June 2023 to October 2023, 26 pts were enrolled. The median age was 50 years (range: 24-74 years). Most pts were female (n = 14, 65.4%), had breast cancer (n = 8, 30.8%), presented with advanced disease (stages III-IV; n = 17, 73.7%), and were receiving chemotherapy (n = 13, 50%). A total of 108 symptoms were reported, mostly grade I-II (n = 87, 80.5%), with fatigue (n = 16, 14.8%) and joint pain (n = 12, 11.1%) being the most common. The majority of symptoms (n = 104, 96.3%) were resolved exclusively by the nursing team. The PAR was 68.5%, while the ER and NPS were 65.4% and 66.7%, respectively. Regarding HRU, the distribution across risk levels was 73.7% low, 10.5% moderate, 5.3% high, and 10.5% critical. When compared to the reference group, there was a reduction of 3.7% in the high-risk group (9% to 5.3%) and 6.7% in the critical-risk group (17.2% to 10.5%). The overall hospitalization rate was 8%, a 2.4% reduction compared to the cross-institutional benchmark (10.4%). Conclusions: The platform demonstrated high patient activation and engagement rates, with most symptoms being resolved by the nursing team alone. HRU rates were lower compared to the provider's historical benchmarks. Large-scale clinical trials are needed to validate the platform and further strengthen its evidence base.

Journal of Clinical OncologyVol. 43(16_suppl)
Hospital Municipal São José (BR)
Openalex Percentile: Top 83%
Economic and Financial Impacts of Cancer
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