A survey by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has found that almost two-thirds of the thoracic oncologists who participated used telehealth solutions in trials for the first time ever during the COVID-19 crisis.

Nearly two-thirds (65.2 percent) of the respondents reported they used telehealth for the first time and nearly half (48.2 percent) felt that telehealth is now firmly entrenched going forward.

The main advantages for providers and patients, they said, were the ability to maintain contact with patients (88 and 92 percent, respectively). The biggest cons for providers were the lack of human contact (72.9 percent), a lack of patient internet access and technological know-how (71.3 percent) and missing informal aspects of face-to-face interactions (71.3 percent). Patients, who were also surveyed, voiced these negatives as their top concerns with telehealth.

Despite the possibilities of telehealth and the pandemic spurring widespread adoption, most surveyed felt the pandemic affected patient care and trials negatively overall (68 percent).