Current Status of Out-of-Hospital Management of Cancer Patients and Awareness of Internet Medical Treatment: A Questionnaire Survey

Abstract

Objective: To explore the current situation of the out-of-hospital management of patients with cancer and evaluate the feasibility of Internet medical intervention outside the hospital in China. Methods: The questionnaire was designed based on the investigators' clinical experience, literature data, and the Anderson Symptom Scale, and adopted a cross sectional survey method. Results: Totally 1,171 qualified questionnaires were analyzed. The results showed that 92.7% of patients with cancer experienced varying degrees of out-of-hospital symptoms after treatment, and a third of them needed clinical intervention. Abnormal blood test results outside the hospital were basically consistent with the events that occurred during the hospitalization. One third of patients with cancer could not identify abnormal results. The primary approaches to solve these abnormalities were to seek guidance from the physician in charge or from nearby hospitals, but only 6.75% patients sought help online. More than half of the life or work of patients with cancer are still greatly affected under the current management model. 92% of respondents required medical help outside the hospital, and 65% ones were willing to pay for the out-of-hospital management. Conclusions: Out-of-hospital management model needs to be improved. Most users are willing to accept Internet cancer management with fees. The survey has a positive effect on guiding future Internet cancer management practices in China to a certain extent.

Keywords: Internet medical services; cancer management; out-of-hospital; questionnaire survey; survival.