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Abstract Details
Telephone-Only Visits Preserved Hepatocellular Cancer Screening Rates in Patients with Cirrhosis Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic
1Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston Salem, NC, 27157, USA. srudnick@wakehealth.edu.
2Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, USA.
3Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston Salem, NC, 27157, USA.
4Department of Internal Medicine Informatics & Analytics Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Winston Salem, NC, USA.
5Division of Hepatology, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Abstract
Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic required an immediate and large-scale transition to telemedicine. Telemedicine includes phone visits and video visits. Studies suggest that hepatocellular cancer (HCC) screening rates fell at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. If left unaddressed, HCC morbidity/mortality may increase following the pandemic due to inadequate screening.
Aims: To assess the impact of phone-only visits on HCC screening rates in patients with cirrhosis.
Methods: Utilizing ICD-10 codes, 2 cohorts of patients with cirrhosis were identified. The pre-pandemic cohort had index visit between 1/1/2019 and 6/30/2019 (n = 290). The pandemic cohort (n = 112) was evaluated between 4/7/2020 and 6/7/2020. Each cohort was followed for 6 months from their index visit to determine HCC screening rate. Demographics and socioeconomic data from the American Community Survey database were compiled and compared between the cohorts.
Results: HCC screening rates in the pre-pandemic and pandemic cohorts were 72.4% and 69.6%, respectively, p = 0.67. No differences in HCC screening rates were observed between the two cohorts when stratified by demographic and socioeconomic factors.
Conclusions: Use of phone-only visits was associated with adherence to HCC screening similar to that seen with in-person visits. The lack of influence on screening rates by racial/socioeconomic factors suggest telephone-only visits do not exacerbate healthcare disparities. In times of public health of crisis, telephone-only visits may provide the necessary access to hepatology care to ensure HCC screening regimens remain in-place for at-risk patients.