Dr Afreen Idris Shariff: Cancer Care Can Transform Through e-Consults

At the recent Association of Community Cancer Centers’ 40th National Oncology Conference, held October 4-6 in Austin, Texas, Afreen Shariff, MD, MBBS, director at Duke Endo-Oncology Program, Duke Endocrinology, Duke Cancer Institute, sat down for a conversation with The American Journal of Managed Care^® to discuss both the challenges and benefits of electronic consults (e-consults) for patients with cancer currently undergoing treatment who have a comorbidity history or who develop an endocrine system disorder because of treatment.

Here she discusses for whom and in what conditions e-consults are a potential mode of care access.

Transcript

Are there specific patient populations or medical conditions in which e-consults can be particularly beneficial?

I think any area within cancer care can be transformed through e-consults, whether it is psychiatry, psychology care. I think the more niche you are in practice—in the sense that if it is a cardiologist that specializes in cancer therapies and cancer care, or if it is a nephrologist that specializes in cancer therapies and kind of cancer toxicities—depending on what the needs are of the practice, really, defining that and matching that with the experts around the country is where electronic consults can be very helpful. Anywhere where you identify poor access is an opportunity where electronic consults can be very well utilized.