A Pilot Study of the Physician Acceptance of Tele-Oncology

During the winter of 1993, medical oncologists from an urban, university-based hospital provided oncology care to rural patients using interactive video clinics (tele-oncology). In order to assess physician satisfaction with this form of outreach, surveys were performed after the video encounters, as well as after a limited number of subsequent clinical encounters on site. Various aspects of satisfaction were evaluated. Although the sample was small (a total of 41 clinical encounters and 3 oncologists), the results suggested that there was a reasonable level of physician satisfaction with, and confidence in, the use of video to replace some on-site oncology consultations. A definitive study of tele-oncology for providing care to rural cancer patients therefore appears to be warranted.