How to PROceed? Reviewing obstacles and perspectives in patient-centered digital care in radiation oncology

Abstract

As the general public is increasing their online presence and is becoming confident with the digital infrastructure, an opportunity for patient-centered digital care has arisen. Electronic patient-reported outcomes, (e)PRO in short, may facilitate enhanced clinical management of radiation oncology patients. This might enable the physicians to take the initiative and counteract symptoms or undesired side effects before they aggravate and thus, reducing treatment-associated costs. In this article, we review the impetus for and modalities of (e)PRO-based data acquisition and handling in research and routine. We conclude that prospective and technical studies are needed to prove the clinical significance of (e)PROs to pave the way to monetary compensation and widespread application.