2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) - ePosters-EP.17F.05 The Impact of COVID-19 On Time Toxicity in Advanced Lung Cancer Patients

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This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on "time toxicity," or the time burden on healthcare systems, for patients with advanced lung cancer, focusing on their interactions with healthcare providers before and during the pandemic. Conducted by researchers from Kaiser Permanente and the University of Minnesota, the study retrospectively analyzed 944 patients diagnosed with advanced lung cancer who died within a year of diagnosis between 2018 and 2021.<br /><br />Key findings indicate that before the pandemic, patients spent about 50% of their time remaining in active healthcare contact, with a significant portion involving institutional stays. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought an overall reduction in healthcare contact days, particularly a decline in institutional contact from 19.8% to 5.9%. This decrease correlates with a shift towards more in-home and virtual care, where in-home care contact increased from 6.1% to 11.2% and virtual care days grew from 2.7% to 5.6%.<br /><br />The analysis shows that the COVID-19 pandemic effectively altered the landscape of healthcare delivery for this patient population, decreasing traditional institutional contact and enhancing virtual and in-home care models. The median age of the patients was 74 years, with a diverse racial distribution predominantly consisting of White individuals. The study suggests that these observed changes could potentially reflect longer-lasting shifts in how healthcare is delivered for chronically ill patients beyond the pandemic period. <br /><br />The findings emphasize the need for healthcare systems to adjust to these changing trends, ensuring that patients' needs are met effectively while minimizing unnecessary healthcare burdens during their limited survival periods. Overall, the results underscore the importance of adapting healthcare delivery to optimize patient care experiences and outcomes.

Asset Subtitle

Ali Duffens

Meta Tag

Speaker Ali Duffens

Topic Global Health, Health Services, and Health Economics

Keywords

COVID-19

time toxicity

healthcare burden

advanced lung cancer

virtual care

in-home care

healthcare delivery

Kaiser Permanente

University of Minnesota

patient care outcomes