The impact of a VA teleoncology program on travel burden and costs for veterans with genitourinary cancers.

Le résumé fourni par la source

567 Background: Veterans with genitourinary (GU) cancers often face geographic barriers to subspecialty care, leading to significant travel-related time and cost burdens. To address this, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) launched regional teleoncology programs, including the VISN 21 Clinical Resource Hub (CRH). This study evaluates the impact of teleoncology on travel distance, time, and cost savings for veterans with GU cancers. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all encounters through the CRH teleoncology program over a three-year period (2022- 2025). Patient demographics including gender, race, age and address were recorded. Round-trip travel distance from veteran home to clinic site was calculated using address. Travel cost savings were estimated using the IRS standard mileage reimbursement rate ($0.70/mile). Time savings were calculated assuming an average commute speed of 60 miles/hour. Descriptive statistics and interquartile ranges (IQR) were calculated to summarize results. Results: 142 veterans were seen during 2022-2025 however patients presenting solely for second opinions (n=31) and those without addresses (n=5) were excluded from analysis. Among 106 evaluable patients the majority were white (n=80, 75%), males (n=105, 99%) and prostate cancer was the most common diagnosis (80.2%), followed by urothelial (6.6%) and renal cancer (5.1%). The cohort had a mean age of 74.3 years (range 26-94). Veterans completed a total of 916 teleoncology visits over three years, averaging 8.64 visits per patient. Total travel distance saved was 142,325 miles (mean: 1,342.7 miles/patient, IQR 201-1795.5). The total travel time saved was 2,372.1 hours (mean: 22.4 hours/patient, IQR: 3.35–29.93 hours), and the total mileage cost saved was $99,627.50 (mean: $939.88/patient, IQR 140.7-1256.85). Conclusions: The regional VISN CRH Oncology program significantly reduced travel distance, time, and associated costs for veterans with GU cancers. Further research should investigate the effects of teleoncology on clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.