Ashley Spaulding

The Decreasing Cost of Telemedicine and Telehealth

The teleoncology practice based at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) in Kansas City, Kansas, is one of the longest running practices of its kind worldwide. The practice began in 1995 and connected an oncologist at KUMC with a rural medical center in Hays, Kansas. Fifteen years later, the practice continues to thrive at Hays Medical Center and has also expanded to include two additional sites within the state-the Northeast Kansas Center for Health and Wellness in Horton and Goodland Regional Medical Center in Goodland-that offer regularly scheduled teleoncology clinics. While the KUMC practice has witnessed an expansion in service sites throughout its history, the practice has seen a significant decrease in the costs associated with providing such services since its inception. The cost decrease can, in part, be attributed to an increase in the number of teleoncology visits conducted through the practice since it began. In Fiscal Year 1995 (FY 1995), 103 teleoncology visits resulted in a cost per visit of

A cost analysis of a tele-oncology practice in the United States

812. Five years later, the FY 2000

Engaging a statewide network to expand survivorship care to rural and urban cancer survivors.

410 per visit cost for 121 visits was almost half the cost identified in the initial cost analysis. The FY 2003 cost per visit for 219 visits saw another decrease to

Providing Access to Oncology Care for Rural Patients via Telemedicine

401, and the most recent FY 2005 cost analysis yielded another decrease to

Online Cancer Services: Types of Services Offered and Associated Health Outcomes

251 per visit for 235 visits. The data reported below are likely to be the best now available to track time trends in the cost of providing telemedicine or telehealth consultations. The Conclusion and Policy Recommendations at the end of this article will focus on both the cost-time profile and some other challenges and lessons learned.

Telehospice: Implementation lessons from rural hospice care with mobile tablets.

Oncology services have been provided by telemedicine from the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) for almost 10 years. We have analysed the costs associated with providing tele-oncology clinics to a rural Kansas town for two fiscal years, 1995 and 2000. The aim was to compare recent tele-oncology costs with those of the first year of tele-oncology practice. A study conducted in 1995 showed that the average cost was

Psycho-oncology via telemedicine: A model to provide services to a rural population.

812 per telemedicine consultation. Data from fiscal year 2000 showed that the average cost was

A cost analysis of practicing oncology via telemedicine

410 per telemedicine consultation, a decrease of almost 50%. As the tele-oncology practice in Kansas continues to grow, it can be expected that the costs associated with providing tele-oncology services will continue to decline.

The financial side of a Kansas tele-oncology practice.

23 Background: Advances have been made in elevating cancer survivorship as a public health priority and defining elements needed to deliver high-quality follow-up care to survivors. However, a lack of research on how best to care for survivors and the most effective and efficient strategies for delivering survivorship care in the community setting still exists. We report our assessment of the current state of practice, knowledge and professional development, and plan to increase access to care of urban and rural practices across the state of Kansas. METHODS In 2014, the Midwest Cancer Alliance (MCA), a membership-based outreach arm of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, convened an educational summit and survey to assess the survivorship landscape in Kansas. Post-summit, individual interviews were conducted. Survey and interviews included questions regarding health records, treatment summaries, survivorship care plans (SCP), availability of survivorship programs and resources, access to primary care and specialists, distress screening, community support, and educational needs. RESULTS Ten MCA member health systems were invited to participate and 7 indicated interest in participating in the project. Only one organization provided an SCP to survivors. Barriers included lack of an integrated approach and knowledge. A majority of survivorship care could be delivered close to home, however, services including fertility preservation, genetic counseling, oncology rehab, sexual health, and second opinions, required travel of more than 50 miles. Identified educational needs focused on comprehensive survivorship care across the health care team. CONCLUSIONS Survivorship care remains fragmented across the state of Kansas. Based on this project, we have secured a CDC survivorship grant that will facilitate clinical and technical assistance related to process improvement and electronic health record integration focused on survivorship care and delivery of an SCP. Next steps include engaging primary care providers and survivors to assure the SCP meets the needs of stakeholders. This work will focus on a translational process to meet the growing needs of the survivors and complex health care organizations.