Utilisation Patterns and Clinical Outcomes of Teleconsultation Versus Face‐to‐Face Follow‐Up of Breast Cancer Patients in the Post‐COVID‐19 Era
- 1Department of Oncology Bristol National Service Trust Bristol UK
- 2Bristol Medical School University of Bristol Bristol UK bristol.ac.uk
Abstract
Background: There is a lack of updated data on the utilisation of teleconsultation after the end of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Objective clinical outcome measures to reflect its safety and effectiveness are underresearched.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive breast cancer outpatient clinic appointments which took place between 5 May 2023, and 30 June 2025, in the oncology department of a tertiary referral hospital. Patient characteristics, postconsultation acute services contact, emergency hospital admission rate and survival were compared between telephone and face‐to‐face consultation groups.
Results: A total of 3098 consultations involving 433 patients were included in our analysis. The majority was face‐to‐face (66.1%). Teleconsultations were associated with a lower median age (p < 0.0001), higher proportion of patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 (p = 0.0010), Stage III or IV disease (p = 0.0112), longer history of follow‐up (p < 0.0001) and active treatment (p < 0.0001). No significant difference was found in postconsultation acute services contact or emergency hospital admission rate after adjusting for confounding factors (p = 0.6165). Overall survival was similar in patients stratified by the proportion of teleconsultations out of all attended appointments (logrank p = 0.07), as was recurrence‐free survival (logrank p = 0.052) in early breast cancer.
Conclusion: We reported ongoing high utilisation of teleconsultation in a real‐world breast oncology clinic setting and preliminary observation of its successful care delivery without compromise on safety and quality.
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BibTeX
@article{wong2026utilisation,
title = {{Utilisation Patterns and Clinical Outcomes of Teleconsultation Versus Face‐to‐Face Follow‐Up of Breast Cancer Patients in the Post‐COVID‐19 Era}},
author = {Hilda Wong and Timothy Robinson and Thomas Strawson-Smith and Amjed Alhilfi and Louise Panes and Thomas Wells},
journal = {International Journal of Breast Cancer},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1155/ijbc/6612877},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1155/ijbc/6612877},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Utilisation Patterns and Clinical Outcomes of Teleconsultation Versus Face‐to‐Face Follow‐Up of Breast Cancer Patients in the Post‐COVID‐19 Era
AU - Hilda Wong
AU - Timothy Robinson
AU - Thomas Strawson-Smith
AU - Amjed Alhilfi
AU - Louise Panes
AU - Thomas Wells
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - International Journal of Breast Cancer
DO - 10.1155/ijbc/6612877
UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/ijbc/6612877
AB - Background: There is a lack of updated data on the utilisation of teleconsultation after the end of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Objective clinical outcome measures to reflect its safety and effectiveness are underresearched. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive breast cancer outpatient clinic appointments which took place between 5 May 2023, and 30 June 2025, in the oncology department of a tertiary referral hospital. Patient characteristics, postconsultation acute services contact, emergency hospital admission rate and survival were compared between telephone and face‐to‐face consultation groups. Results: A total of 3098 consultations involving 433 patients were included in our analysis. The majority was face‐to‐face (66.1%). Teleconsultations were associated with a lower median age (p < 0.0001), higher proportion of patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 (p = 0.0010), Stage III or IV disease (p = 0.0112), longer history of follow‐up (p < 0.0001) and active treatment (p < 0.0001). No significant difference was found in postconsultation acute services contact or emergency hospital admission rate after adjusting for confounding factors (p = 0.6165). Overall survival was similar in patients stratified by the proportion of teleconsultations out of all attended appointments (logrank p = 0.07), as was recurrence‐free survival (logrank p = 0.052) in early breast cancer. Conclusion: We reported ongoing high utilisation of teleconsultation in a real‐world breast oncology clinic setting and preliminary observation of its successful care delivery without compromise on safety and quality.
SN - 2090-3170
SN - 2090-3189
ER -