Successful implementation of an ePRO remote monitoring system in patients receiving chemotherapy in a community oncology practice
Remote symptom monitoring of patients receiving cancer treatment has been shown to improve patient outcomes in the research setting. However, there is little evidence that this technology can be implemented and scaled in the real world with the same benefits. Beginning in June 2020, Highlands Oncology Group (HOG) offered patients receiving parenteral cancer therapy enrollment onto Expain: an EMR-integrated, electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) system which enables remote symptom monitoring during systemic cancer therapy. From June 2020 – January 2021, HOG treated 1261 patients with IV chemotherapy. 769 patients were offered enrollment and 569 (73.9%) were successfully enrolled onto the ePRO system. REsults show that ePRO-based remote monitoring of patients receiving parenteral cancer therapy in routine clinical care is feasible. Patient enrollment and retention are high across all tumor types. Symptoms reported by patients were concordant with previous publications, and a small percent (7% of reports) required an acute office visit.
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