Acceptability, quality of life and cost overview of a remote follow-up plan for patients with colorectal cancer

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) follow-up has a major impact on outpatient services. The aim was to examine patient acceptability and costs of a new remote follow-up regimen for patients with CRC.

Material and methods: All patients with stage I-III CRC and having completed at least one-year of follow-up at Radboud University Medical Center located in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, were considered for remote follow-up. Enrolled patients received the EORTC-C30 (Quality of Life, QoL), Cancer Worry Scale (Fear of Cancer Recurrence, FCR), (e)Health literacy and patient satisfaction questionnaires. Follow-up use and costs were evaluated.

Results: A total of 118 patients with stage I-III CRC have been followed according to the new remote follow-up regimen. Median length of follow-up at start of remote follow-up was 34 months (interquartile range of 24-41) and all patients were sufficiently health literate. Overall satisfaction towards remote follow-up at 6-and 12-months was rated 7.8 and 7.5 out of 10. Satisfaction with the online self-management information was rated 8 out of 10. Over a one-year period, QoL remained high and patients experienced low FCR. More than 70% of the patients self-organized their care, while the others sought contact by telephone, MyChart or hospital visits. Remote follow-up for the total cohort led to €22,408 cost-savings over one-year compared to standard hospital follow-up.

Conclusions: Implementation of remote follow-up for patients with stage I-III CRC is feasible, comes with high patient satisfaction and considerable cost-savings. Short-term results did not show differences in QoL or FCR during the course of remote follow-up.