Telehealth - what works and what doesn’t?
Covid-19 has seen a lot of changes to the way we live. A big change in healthcare has been a rise in delivery of medical appointments over the phone or through a computer video link (often called telehealth) rather than through a face to face consultation.
While telehealth can have many benefits for patients including less travel and less time in waiting rooms, there may also be disadvantages, particularly if there are communication difficulties or if the technology isn’t working properly.
Cancer Council Victoria is working with the Integrated Cancer Services and Deakin University researchers to understand what cancer patients and their carers think of telehealth. This work aims to find out what patients and carers think is good about telehealth, what isn’t working for patients and how telehealth services can be improved.
How you can help
We would like to talk to people about their experiences with telehealth appointments for cancer care. The interview will go for about 30 minutes and will be conducted by researchers from Deakin University who are experienced in conducting research with people affected by cancer.
We’d like to hear from you if you have:
- Been diagnosed with cancer in the past 4 years in Victoria
- Had a telehealth appointment for your cancer treatment any time after March 2020 (since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were introduced)
- Cared for someone with cancer in Victoria and have attended a telehealth appointment with them for their cancer care any time after March 2020 (since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were introduced)
The interview will be conducted via the telephone or over Zoom and will ask about:
- Information you received about how the telehealth appointment will be run (what technology, who would call you etc)
- Whether there were problems with the technology
- How comfortable you were discussing your health at the appointment
- What worked and what didn’t work
- What could be improved to make telehealth work better for patients
Register your interest today
Register here
If you’d like to find out more about the study contact Victoria White, Researcher on 03 924 68522 or vicki.white@deakin.edu.au