Kroenke, K., Theobald, D., Wu, J., Norton, K., Morrison, G., Carpenter, J., & Tu, W. (2010). Effect of telecare management on pain and depression in patients with cancer: A randomized trial. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 304(2), 163–171.
To determine whether centralized telephone-based care management cued by automated symptom monitoring can improve depression and pain in patients with cancer
In this study, called the Indiana Cancer Pain and Depression Trial, centralized telecare management was conducted by a nurse-physician specialist team that worked in concert with automated home-based symptom monitoring. The means of monitoring was interactive voice recording or Internet. A nurse care manager assessed symptom response and medication adherence, provided pain- and depression-specific education, and made treatment adjustments according to evidence-based guidelines. Intervention patients received scheduled calls (at baseline, at 1 week, and at 4 and 12 weeks) and received calls when automated monitoring indicated problems in symptom management. Control group received usual care. Data were collected at baseline and at months 1, 3, 6, and 12.
Randomized controlled trial
This study showed that centralized telecare management with automated symptom monitoring may be a feasible approach for geographically dispersed urban and rural oncology practices. This approach may be effective in improving the pain and depression of cancer patients.
Lack of control of the type of cancer treatment and of the time lapse since treatment might have affected study findings.
Cost will be involved in training the care manager and in the hiring of trained personnel. The cost-effectiveness of the collaborative care model needs to be further examined. Findings suggest that telecare management used with automatic systems cued by patient problems can be an effective approach.