NCT00609505

Telemedicine vs. Face-to-Face Cancer Genetic Counseling

Telemedicine vs. Face-to-Face Cancer Genetic Counseling in Rural Oncology Clinics

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 130 (actual)
• Sponsor: Duke University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Cancer genetic counseling (CGC) has been found to have "substantial" benefits for individuals with breast cancer and their family members; it has been deemed by multiple organizations as "standard of care" for women with breast cancer and their relatives. Unfortunately, there is a disparity in access to CGC, especially among women who live in rural and underserved areas. In North Carolina, only two cancer genetic counselors practice in rural clinics - each only for a few days per month. Therefore, in an effort to make CGC more widely available in a timely manner, we propose to test provision of counseling through telemedicine (TM), in which a patient and health care provider communicate with each other using videoconferencing. In 4 rural oncology clinics, we will implement low-cost TM and compare satisfaction and cost-effectiveness between groups of women designated to have their CGC session by TM or FTF. We'll use a validated measure to assess satisfaction by a phone survey one week after the CGC appointment; cost-effectiveness will be measured at project's end by calculating length of wait time for appointment and costs of equipment, labor, and mileage. Study hypothesis: TM is as satisfactory as FTF counseling and is a more cost-effective way to provide this beneficial service.

Conditions

• Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome
• Lynch Syndrome

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Telemedicine	Telemedicine genetic counseling
OTHER	Face-to-Face	Face-to-face genetic counseling

Timeline

• Start date: 2008-08-01
• Primary completion: 2011-03-01
• Completion: 2011-04-01
• First posted: 2008-02-07
• Last updated: 2012-02-22

Locations

4 sites across 1 country: United States