“About 40,000 U.S. veterans are diagnosed with cancer each year, according to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) study published in 2012. For the nearly one in four U.S. military veterans who live in rural areas, getting access to timely, quality cancer care may require journeys of 100 miles or more past fields of corn, cattle or cotton. And those trips to the doctor may require time off from work and seeking assistance from caregivers and others.”
“Veterans living in rural areas face transportation challenges that may discourage or prevent them from joining clinical trials, which usually take place at specialized medical centers in larger cities. This can hamper a veteran’s ability to access experimental treatments and services, such as genomic testing, which may provide an edge in the fight against cancer.”
“Recognizing the need to improve healthcare access and cancer care for veterans who live in rural and underserved areas, Genentech and the VA are teaming up on a unique research program. Using an emerging approach known as a decentralized, or virtual, clinical study, the aim is to make clinical research more efficient, equitable and cost-effective by bringing some aspects of cancer care into patients’ homes, regardless of where they live. Another benefit of the virtual study is that all 150+ medical centers across the VA health network will become activated simultaneously without the need for independent contracting through each medical center…”
“This program is being launched against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reinforced the need to make clinical research more accessible and equitable. The pandemic has highlighted the disparities faced by patients in rural and remote communities trying to access care. Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus disease has had a disproportionate impact on people with chronic conditions or disabilities, on older people, and on racial and ethnic minorities – all groups that are well represented among U.S. veterans…” Read the full article here.
Source: How Digital Health is Bringing Personalized Cancer Care to Veterans – May 20, 2021. Genentech.
