How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed chemotherapy services delivery?

The pandemic has compelled health professionals to adopt novel ways of providing chemotherapy services to cancer patients by reducing interactions, a study has shown. Further research is needed following this period, including understanding patients’ perceptions of risk to treatment, use of oral treatments, and the impact of treatment breaks on cancer outcomes.

“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, changes to chemotherapy services were implemented as a means of managing imposed workload strains within health services and protecting patients from contracting COVID-19,” the authors said. “Given the rapidly evolving nature of the pandemic many changes were rapidly adopted and were not substantiated by robust evidence.”

A survey was then developed to understand the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of systemic anticancer therapies (SACT), as well as to describe the changes adopted internationally to chemotherapy services, which may be utilized in guiding future modifications to treatment delivery.

The survey consisted of 22 questions that examined strategies implemented during the pandemic to prioritize and protect patients receiving SACT and the participants’ professional opinion of the strategies employed. It was distributed via professional bodies and was available in the following languages: English, Spanish, and French.

Overall, 129 responses were collected from healthcare professionals working across 17 different countries. Less than half (45 percent) of the institutions had to implement treatment prioritization strategies. All hospitals implemented changes in the delivery of treatment, as follows: reduction in treatments (69 percent), using less immunosuppressive agents (50 percent), allowing treatment breaks (14 percent), and switching to oral therapies (45 percent).

Furthermore, participants saw virtual clinic visits as the most effective strategy to protect patients.