Improving cancer patient care with a digital telemonitoring platform: The ConnectPatienToDoctor study

Helissey, C.; Duverger, C.; Vanquaethem, H.; Meghiref, Y.; Parnot, C.

Background: During COVID19 pandemic, clinicians have had to face two challenges in an unprecedented context: ensuring continuity of patient care for a disease that involves a lifethreatening prognosis while reducing patients' vulnerability to this virus. The ConnectPatientToDoctor study aimed to evaluate a connected telemonitoring platform,Cureety, in cancer patient care. Patients and Methods: This prospective study was conducted at the Military Hospital Bégin. Each cancer patient was allowed to respond to a personalized symptomatology questionnaire based on CTCAE v.5.0, and personalized to their pathology and treatment. An algorithm evaluated the health status of the patient based on the reported adverse events and provided adapted recommendations. The calculated score allows to classify the patient into four different levels: (1) Correct State (green) (2) Compromised State (yellow) (3) State to be monitored (orange) (4) Critical State (red) In the case of orange or red classification, the patient was invited to call the hospital. In case of green or yellow classification, the patient received therapeutic advice set by the doctor, for each of the adverse events reported. The primary endpoint was to assess the feasibility of monitoring cancer patient with the connected platform. The secondary endpoint was to assess patient and caregivers' satisfaction. Results: There were 108 patients included in the program between July 1st, 2020 and January 31 , 2021. The median age was 70 and 77% presented a metastatic stage. The most represented cancer was prostate (50%), followed by lung (24%) and breast (15%). Overall, 1864 questionnaires were completed by the patients, resulting in 543 yellow alerts and 133 orange or red alerts. More than 60% of the alerts was managed through outpatient care or with a rapid intervention to resolve the adverse events. On a satisfaction scale from 1 to 10, where 10 was the highest, 72% of the patients responded with a 9 or 10. And all caregivers were satisfied because they could offer a better care, prioritize care, and save time. Conclusions: Participants in ConnectPatientToDoctor study reported that they had a clear benefit from using a connected platform to monitor their treatment. Patients felt less isolated and felt that they benefited from personalized care. This solution makes it possible to streamline the patient care process.