NYU Cancer Center Adds Virtual Supportive Care Program

To improve quality of life and limit the digital divide, the NYU Langone Health Perlmutter Cancer Center at Sunset Park added a pilot program to connect lung cancer patients and supportive care physicians virtually.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 221,097 new cases of lung and bronchus cancer reported in 2019.

Previous studies indicate that supportive oncology services improve the quality of life for those battling lung cancer, the press release states. This led the team at the Perlmutter Cancer Center at Sunset Park to create a pilot program that provides patients with virtual assistance from supportive care physicians at Perlmutter Cancer Center in Manhattan.

Through the program, supportive care physicians can help determine subjective patient goals, assess and manage symptoms, and provide nutrition services, counseling, and advanced care planning services, among others.

Physicians can refer patients with lung cancer symptoms for supportive care during their initial clinic visit. After agreeing to participate in the virtual care program, patients receive an iPad that connects them to a provider, along with a headset that allows for privacy during their chemotherapy treatments at the center.

“We know for a fact that early supportive care intervention in cancer, and especially lung cancer, is better for patients and leads to better outcomes,” said Abraham Chachoua, MD, director of Perlmutter's Lung Cancer Center, in a press release. “With this pilot program, we are trying to bridge the digital divide that exists for our medically underserved patients and provide the opportunity for them to receive supportive oncology services that might otherwise not be available to them. Underserved patients are particularly affected because of poor access to care and technology.”

The press release also notes that the service aims to simultaneously improve quality of life while engaging patients in treatment rather than acting as hospice care.

“We strive to help people with cancer understand that supportive oncology is not the same as hospice,” said Akash Shah, MD, clinical instructor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a member of Perlmutter Cancer Center’s supportive care team, in the press release. “The goal of supportive care is to help patients with their quality of life while they are having treatment, including managing their symptoms and discussing their goals of care.”

The use of virtual resources to improve cancer care has recently expanded.

For example, in June, a collaboration allowed Walgreens customers to access virtual cancer care support from Jasper Health Services. Through a system known as Coach+, patients could obtain mental health, sleep, nutrition, physical activity, and financial support services through the Walgreens Find Care platform.

In August, four organizations announced their plans to assemble telehealth research centers of excellence that aim to improve cancer care. The organizations will receive funding from the National Institutes of Health to create these centers.