title: Teleoncology for gynecologic cancers.
abstract: Teleoncology describes cancer care provided remotely to improve access to care in rural or underserved areas. In the United States, 14.8 million women live more than 50 miles away from the closest gynecologic oncologist; 4.3 million women live more than 100 miles distant. Teleoncology may therefore partially relieve the geographic barriers to high-quality gynecologic cancer care these women experience. Little has been published on the feasibility of remote provision of high-quality care for gynecologic cancers, perhaps owing to the particular difficulties inherent in remote management of patients who may require both medical and surgical intervention. In this article, we review the data supporting the use of telemedicine in the treatment of cancer patients with a specific focus on applicability to management of gynecologic malignancies. We further add our group's experience with the treatment of rural, underserved gynecologic cancer patients. We believe that development of teleoncologic systems is critical to ensure that all women have access to high-quality gynecologic cancer care, regardless of where they reside.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States. Electronic address: david.shalowitz@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: David I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Shalowitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pennsylvania Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
authors.forename: Allison G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, SD, United States.
authors.forename: Maria C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Billings Clinic, Billings, MT, United States.
authors.forename: Randall K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Gibb
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000628:therapy*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: Access disparities; Cancer care delivery research; Health services research; Telemedicine; Teleoncology