Shortening the Time Interval for the Referral of Patients With Soft Tissue Sarcoma to Expert Centers Using Mobile Health: Retrospective Study.
GP
apps
cancer
care coordination
communication
connective tissue
consultation
doctor
general practitioner
health app
health care provider
interprofessional
mHealth
mobile app
mobile health
oncology
patient management
physician
prognosis
referral
sarcoma
soft tissue
specialist
tumor
Journal
JMIR mHealth and uHealth
ISSN: 2291-5222
Titre abrégé: JMIR Mhealth Uhealth
Pays: Canada
ID NLM: 101624439
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
09 11 2022
09 11 2022
Historique:
received:
03
07
2022
accepted:
06
10
2022
revised:
17
09
2022
entrez:
9
11
2022
pubmed:
10
11
2022
medline:
15
11
2022
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
According to guidelines, all patients with sarcoma must be managed from initial diagnosis at expert sarcoma centers. However, in everyday practice, the time interval to an expert center visit can be long, which delays presentation to an expert multidisciplinary tumor board and increases the risk of inappropriate management, negatively affecting local tumor control and prognosis. The advent of mobile health offers an easy way to facilitate communication and cooperation between general health care providers (eg, general practitioners and radiologists) and sarcomas experts. We developed a mobile app (Sar'Connect) based on the algorithm designed by radiologists from the French Sarcoma Group. Through a small number of easy-to-answer questions, Sar'Connect provides personalized advice for the management of patients and contact information for the closest expert center. This retrospective study is the first to assess this mobile app's potential benefits in reducing the time interval for patient referral to an expert center according to the initial clinical characteristics of the soft tissue tumor. From May to December 2021, we extracted tumor mass data for 78 patients discussed by the multidisciplinary tumor boards at 3 centers of the French Sarcoma Group. We applied the Sar'Connect algorithm to these data and estimated the time interval between the first medical description of the soft tissue mass and the referral to expert center. We then compared this estimated time interval with the observed time interval. We found that the use of Sar'Connect could potentially shorten the time interval to an expert center by approximately 7.5 months (P<.001). Moreover, for half (31/60, 52%) of the patients with a malignant soft tissue tumor, Sar'Connect could have avoided inappropriate management outside of the reference center. We did not identify a significant determinant for shortening the time interval for referral. Overall, promoting the use of a simple mobile app is an innovative and straightforward means to potentially accelerate both the referral and management of patients with soft tissue sarcoma at expert centers.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
According to guidelines, all patients with sarcoma must be managed from initial diagnosis at expert sarcoma centers. However, in everyday practice, the time interval to an expert center visit can be long, which delays presentation to an expert multidisciplinary tumor board and increases the risk of inappropriate management, negatively affecting local tumor control and prognosis. The advent of mobile health offers an easy way to facilitate communication and cooperation between general health care providers (eg, general practitioners and radiologists) and sarcomas experts. We developed a mobile app (Sar'Connect) based on the algorithm designed by radiologists from the French Sarcoma Group. Through a small number of easy-to-answer questions, Sar'Connect provides personalized advice for the management of patients and contact information for the closest expert center.
OBJECTIVE
This retrospective study is the first to assess this mobile app's potential benefits in reducing the time interval for patient referral to an expert center according to the initial clinical characteristics of the soft tissue tumor.
METHODS
From May to December 2021, we extracted tumor mass data for 78 patients discussed by the multidisciplinary tumor boards at 3 centers of the French Sarcoma Group. We applied the Sar'Connect algorithm to these data and estimated the time interval between the first medical description of the soft tissue mass and the referral to expert center. We then compared this estimated time interval with the observed time interval.
RESULTS
We found that the use of Sar'Connect could potentially shorten the time interval to an expert center by approximately 7.5 months (P<.001). Moreover, for half (31/60, 52%) of the patients with a malignant soft tissue tumor, Sar'Connect could have avoided inappropriate management outside of the reference center. We did not identify a significant determinant for shortening the time interval for referral.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, promoting the use of a simple mobile app is an innovative and straightforward means to potentially accelerate both the referral and management of patients with soft tissue sarcoma at expert centers.
Identifiants
pubmed: 36350680
pii: v10i11e40718
doi: 10.2196/40718
pmc: PMC9685503
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
e40718Informations de copyright
©Simon Nannini, Nicolas Penel, Emmanuelle Bompas, Thibault Willaume, Jean-Emmanuel Kurtz, Justine Gantzer. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (https://mhealth.jmir.org), 09.11.2022.
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