Outpatient Care

Excerpt

Management of haematology-oncology patients has historically been largely inpatient-based. With advances in the understanding of disease and improvements in supportive care, patients are increasingly being managed in the outpatient setting. This is especially evident in autologous stem cell transplantation, which is now routinely done as an outpatient procedure at various centres. As clinicians gain more experience in novel therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy and bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) therapy, these may potentially be administered in the outpatient setting in the near future with the adoption of a risk-stratified approach. Such a paradigm shift in the practice of haematology-oncology is inevitable and has been driven by several factors, including pressure from the institution/hospital to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and for optimal use of inpatient resources to be more cost-effective and efficient. With favourable local regulations and funding, outpatient cancer care can be economically beneficial. The success of an outpatient cancer center is heavily dependent on planning the facility to be equipped with the appropriate infrastructure, together with the trained medical and supportive personnel in place. This, coupled with the utilization of emerging technology such as telemedicine, has the potential to revolutionize cancer care delivery in the outpatient setting.