Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, with its mandated social distancing rules, telemedicine and remote visits stood as the only option for continuing to meet patients’ ambulatory care needs without requiring vulnerable people to travel back and to the hospital. Telemedicine is gaining traction in a variety of clinical fields, including pain medicine and oncology. Women account for two out of every three chronic pain patients. The literature has also considered several women vulnerable patients since they frequently need to care for their families and careers while undergoing chronic pain or oncological treatment. The same literature highlights the massive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women workers and patients. The purpose of this article is to explore how this new paradigm can improve women’s health, facilitating their work-life balance while sick.
The research employs a case study approach, starting with The National Cancer Institute of Aviano’s “Doctor @ Home” (D@H) initiative.
While telemedicine is receiving more attention in the international clinical and management literature, there is still much to learn in practice. The article expands on the gender perspective on e-health, viewing it as a potential opportunity for patients, practitioners, and entrepreneurs. The co-production of care and the co-learning approach are the two fundamental factors of the program.
Although the D@H initiative is still in its infancy, the study provides new perspectives about an innovative telemedicine program that focuses primarily on female patients. Its techniques and methodologies may be easily replicable by other healthcare organizations, as telemedicine appears to have a bright future even in a COVID-free new normal.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Acar, M., & Kaya, O. (2019). A healthcare network design model with mobile hospitals for disaster preparedness: A case study for Istanbul earthquake. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 130(September), 273–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2019.09.007
Amgarth-duff, I., Hendrickx, D., Bowen, A., Carapetis, J., Infectious, P., Consultant, D., … Council, J. C. (2019). Women, clinician and IT staff perspectives on telehealth for enhanced gestational diabetes mellitus management in an Australian rural/regional setting. Rural and Remote Health, 19(3).
Angelos, P. (2020). Interventions to improve informed consent perhaps surgeons should speak less and listen more. JAMA Surgery, 155(1), 13–14. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2019.3796
Arena, C., Catuogno, S., Saggese, S., & Sarto, F. (2020). The adoption of e-Health in public hospitals. Unfolding the gender dimension of TMT and line managers. Public Management Review, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2020.1775280
Barcellini, A., Filippi, A. R., Dal Mas, F., Cobianchi, L., Corvò, R., Price, P., & Orlandi, E. (2020). To a new normal in radiation oncology: Looking back and planning forward. Tumori Journal, 106(6), 440–444. https://doi.org/10.1177/0300891620962197
Bashshur, R., Shannon, G., Krupinski, E., & Grigsby, J. (2011). The taxonomy of telemedicine. Telemedicine Journal and E-Health: The Official Journal of the American Telemedicine Association, 17(6), 484–494. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2011.0103
Batalden, M., Batalden, P., Margolis, P., Seid, M., Armstrong, G., Opipari-arrigan, L., & Hartung, H. (2016). Coproduction of healthcare service. BMJ Quality & Safety, 25(7), 509–517. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004315
Bednarova, R., Biancuzzi, H., Rizzardo, A., Dal Mas, F., Massaro, M., Cobianchi, L., … Miceli, L. (2020). Cancer rehabilitation and physical activity: The “Oncology in Motion” project. Journal of Cancer Education. (In press). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01920-0
Biancuzzi, H., Dal Mas, F., Miceli, L., & Bednarova, R. (2020). Post breast cancer coaching path: A co-production experience for women. In P. Paoloni & R. Lombardi (Eds.), Gender studies, entrepreneurship and human capital. IPAZIA 2019. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics (pp. 11–23). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46874-3_2
Breivik, H., Collett, B., Ventafridda, V., Cohen, R., & Gallacher, D. (2006). Survey of chronic pain in Europe: Prevalence, impact on daily life, and treatment. European Journal of Pain (London, England), 10(4), 287–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpain.2005.06.009
Chen, B., Baur, A., Stepniak, M., & Wang, J. (2019). Finding the future of care provision: The role of smart hospitals. McKinsey & Company. Accessed October 26, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/finding-the-future-of-careprovision-the-role-of-smart-hospitals
Cheng, B.-W., Luo, C.-M., Chiu, W.-H., & Chen, K.-H. (2009). Applying cluster analysis to build a patient-centric healthcare service strategy for elderly patients. International Journal of Technology Management, 47(1–3), 145–160.
Cobianchi, L., Pugliese, L., Peloso, A., Dal Mas, F., & Angelos, P. (2020). To a new normal: Surgery and COVID-19 during the transition phase. Annals of Surgery, 272, e49–e51. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000004083
Dal Mas, F., Bagarotto, E. M., & Cobianchi, L. (2021). Soft skills effects on knowledge translation in healthcare. Evidence from the field. In M. T. Lepeley, N. Beutell, N. Abarca, & N. Majluf (Eds.), Soft skills for human centered management and global sustainability (pp. 95–109). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003094463-7-11
Dal Mas, F., Biancuzzi, H., Massaro, M., Barcellini, A., Cobianchi, L., & Miceli, L. (2020). Knowledge translation in oncology. A case study. Electronic Journal Of Knowledge Management, 18(3), 212–223. https://doi.org/10.34190/EJKM.18.03.002
Dal Mas, F., Biancuzzi, H., Massaro, M., & Miceli, L. (2020). Adopting a knowledge translation approach in healthcare co-production. A case study. Management Decision, 58(9), 1841–1862. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-10-2019-1444
Dal Mas, F., Biancuzzi, H., & Miceli, L. (2021). The importance of Soft Skills in the co-production of healthcare services in the public sector: The Oncology in Motion experience. In M. T. Lepeley, N. Beutell, N. Abarca, & N. Majluf (Eds.), Soft skills for human centered management and global sustainability. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003094463-8-12
Dal Mas, F., Garcia-Perez, A., Sousa, M. J., Lopes da Costa, R., & Cobianchi, L. (2020). Knowledge translation in the healthcare sector. A structured literature review. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(3), 198–211. https://doi.org/10.34190/EJKM.18.03.001
Dal Mas, F., & Paoloni, P. (2019). A relational capital perspective on social sustainability. The case of female entrepreneurship in Italy. Measuring Business Excellence, 24(1), 114–130.
Dal Mas, F., Piccolo, D., & Ruzza, D. (2020). Overcoming cognitive bias through intellectual capital management . The case of pediatric medicine. In P. Ordonez de Pablos & L. Edvinsson (Eds.), Intellectual capital in the digital economy (pp. 123–133). Routledge.
Dal Mas, F., Romani, G., Modenese, M., Lucà, R., Manca, M. F., Ferrara, M., & Cobianchi, L. (2021). Healthcare and human centered organizational culture in crisis during COVID-19 pandemic. The Italian experience. In M. T. Lepeley, O. Morales, P. Essens, N. J. Beutell, & N. Majluf (Eds.), Human centered organizational culture global dimensions (pp. 139–150). Routledge.
Della Monica, A., Ferrara, P., Dal Mas, F., Cobianchi, L., Scannapieco, F., & Ruta, F. (2021). The impact of Covid-19 healthcare emergency on the psychological well-being of health professionals: A review of literature. Annali Di Igiene. Epub in pr. https://doi.org/10.7416/ai.2021.2445
Elwyn, G., Nelson, E., Hager, A., & Price, A. (2020). Coproduction: When users define quality. BMJ Quality and Safety, 29(9), 711–716. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2019-009830
Escoffery, C. (2018). Gender similarities and differences for e-health behaviors among U.S. adults. Telemedicine Journal and E-Health: The Official Journal of the American Telemedicine Association, 24(5), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2017.0136
Fuchs, V. (1968). The service economy. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Grasselli, G., Pesenti, A., & Cecconi, M. (2020). Critical care utilization for the COVID-19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy. JAMA, 323(16), 1545–1546. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.4031
Grenda, T. R., Whang, S., & Evans, N. R. (2020). Transitioning a surgery practice to telehealth during COVID-19. Annals of Surgery, 272(2), e168–e169. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000004008
Jain, P., & Kaur, A. (2018). Big data analysis for prediction of coronary artery disease. In 4th International Conference on Computing Sciences (ICCS) (pp. 188–193) Jalandhar.
Jiménez-Zarco, A. I., Clemente-Almendros, J. A., González-González, I., & Aracil-Jordà, J. (2021). Female Micro-entrepreneurs and social networks: Diagnostic analysis of the influence of social-media marketing strategies on brand financial performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 151. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.630058
Kuckertz, A. (2021). Standing up against crisis-induced entrepreneurial uncertainty: Fewer teams, more habitual entrepreneurs. International Small Business Journal, 39(3), 191–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242621997782
Leape, L. L., Berwick, D., Clancy, C., Conway, J., Gluck, P., Guest, J., Lawrence, D., Morath, J., O’Leary, D., O’Neill, P., & Pinakiewicz, D. (2009). Transforming healthcare: A safety imperative. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 18(6), 424–428. https://doi.org/10.1136/qshc.2009.036954
Martínez-Rodríguez, I., Quintana-Rojo, C., Gento, P., & Callejas-Albiñana, F.-E. (2021). Public policy recommendations for promoting female entrepreneurship in Europe. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-021-00751-9
Massaro, M., Tamburro, P., La Torre, M., Dal Mas, F., Thomas, R., Cobianchi, L., & Barach, P. (2021). Non-pharmaceutical interventions and the infodemic on Twitter: Lessons learned from Italy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Medical Systems, 45(50). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-021-01726-7
Massaro, M., Dumay, J., & Bagnoli, C. (2019). Transparency and the rhetorical use of citations to Robert Yin in case study research. Meditari Accountancy Research, 27(1), 44–71. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEDAR-08-2017-0202
Mavroudis, C. L., Landau, S., Brooks, E., Bergmark, R., Berlin, N. L., Blumenthal, B., Cooper, Z., Hwang, E. K., Lancaster, E., Waljee, J., & Wick, E. (2021). The relationship between surgeon gender and stress during the Covid-19 pandemic. Annals of Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1097/sla.0000000000004762
Miaskowski, C., Paul, S. M., Snowberg, K., Abbott, M., Borno, H., Chang, S., Chen, L. M., Cohen, B., Cooper, B. A., Hammer, M. J., & Kenfield, S. A. (2021). Oncology patients’ perceptions of and experiences with COVID-19. Supportive Care in Cancer: Official Journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 29(4), 1941–1950. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05684-7
Miceli, L., Bednarova, R., Bednarova, I., Rizzardo, A., Cobianchi, L., Dal Mas, F., … Zattoni, F. (2021). What people search for when browsing “Doctor Google.” An analysis of search trends in Italy after the law on pain. Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, 35(1), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/15360288.2021.1882640
Miceli, L., Bednarova, R., Biancuzzi, H., & Garlatti, A. (2019). Nascita di un percorso riabilitativo in un Irccs oncologico del Friuli-Venezia Giulia: “Oncology in motion.”. Politiche Sanitarie, 20(2), 89–95.
Miceli, L., Bednarova, R., Di Cesare, M., Santori, E., Spizzichino, M., Di Minco, L., … Della Rocca, G. (2017). Outpatient therapeutic chronic opioid consumption in Italy: a one-year survey. Minerva Anestesiologica, 83(1), 33–40.
Miceli, L., Dal Mas, F., Biancuzzi, H., Bednarova, R., Rizzardo, A., Cobianchi, L., & Holmboe, E. S. (2021). Doctor@Home: Through a telemedicine co-production and co-learning journey. Journal of Cancer Education. In press. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01945-5
Miceli, L., Bednarova, R., Rizzardo, A., Cuomo, A., Riccardi, I., Vetrugno, L., … Cascella, M. (2018). Opioids prescriptions in pain therapy and risk of addiction: a one-year survey in Italy. Analysis of national opioids database. Annali Dell’Istituto Superiore Di Sanita, 54(4), 370–374. https://doi.org/10.4415/ANN_18_04_15
Nikolian, V. C., Williams, A. M., Jacobs, B. N., Kemp, M. T., Wilson, J. K., Mulholland, M. W., & Alam, H. B. (2018). Pilot study to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and financial implications of a postoperative telemedicine program. Annals of Surgery, 268(4), 700–707. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000002931
Osei-Frimpong, K., Wilson, A., & Lemke, F. (2018). Patient co-creation activities in healthcare service delivery at the micro level: The influence of online access to healthcare information. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 126, 14–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.04.009
Paoloni, P., Dal Mas, F., Massaro, M., Barcellini, A., & Orlandi, E. (2021). An organizational model for female leadership in healthcare. The National Centre of Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO Foundation) experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. In E. T. Pereira, C. Costa, & Z. Breda (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Gender Research ICGR 2021 (pp. 228–237). Academic Conferences & Publishing International Ltd. https://doi.org/10.34190/IGR.21.025
Presch, G., Dal Mas, F., Piccolo, D., Sinik, M., & Cobianchi, L. (2020). The World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS) platform for sustainable development. From the digital economy to knowledge in the healthcare sector. In P. Ordonez de Pablos & L. Edvinsson (Eds.), Intellectual Capital in the Digital Economy (pp. 19–28). Routledge.
Reed, M. E., Huang, J., Graetz, I., Lee, C., Muelly, E., Kennedy, C., & Kim, E. (2020). Patient characteristics associated with choosing a telemedicine visit vs office visit with the same primary care clinicians. JAMA Network Open, 3(6), e205873–e205873. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.5873
Reed, M. E., Huang, J., Parikh, R., Millman, A., Ballard, D. W., Barr, I., & Wargon, C. (2019). Patient–provider video telemedicine integrated with clinical care: Patient experiences. Annals of Internal Medicine, 171(3), 222–224. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-3081
Remuzzi, A., & Remuzzi, G. (2020). COVID-19 and Italy: What next? The Lancet, 395(10231), 1225–1228. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30627-9
Ridder, H.-G., Hoon, C., & McCandless Baluch, A. (2014). Entering a dialogue: Positioning case study findings towards theory. British Journal of Management, 25(2), 373–387. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12000
Ritchey, K. C., Foy, A., McArdel, E., & Gruenewald, D. A. (2020). Reinventing palliative care delivery in the era of COVID-19: How telemedicine can support end of life care. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 37(11), 992–997. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049909120948235
Romani, G., Dal Mas, F., Massaro, M., Cobianchi, L., Modenese, M., Barcellini, A., … Ferrara, M. (2021). Population health strategies to support hospital and intensive care unit resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Italian experience. Population Health Management, 24(2), 174–181. https://doi.org/10.1089/pop.2020.0255
Ruta, F., Dal Mas, F., Biancuzzi, H., Ferrara, P., & Della Monica, A. (2021). Covid-19 e salute mentale del personale infermieristico in prima linea: una revisione della letteratura. Professioni Infermieristiche, 74(1), 41–47. https://doi.org/10.7429/pi.2021.741041
Schutt, S., Holloway, D., Linegar, D., & Deman, D. (2017, April). Using simulated digital role plays to teach healthcare “soft skills.” 2017 IEEE 5th International conference on serious games and applications for health, SeGAH 2017. https://doi.org/10.1109/SeGAH.2017.7939254
Sorensen, M. J., Bessen, S., Danford, J., Fleischer, C., & Wong, S. L. (2020). Telemedicine for surgical consultations – Pandemic response or here to stay? Annals of Surgery, 272(3), e174–e180. https://doi.org/10.1097/sla.0000000000004125
Sousa, M. J., Dal Mas, F., & Lopes Da Costa, R. (2021). Editorial EJKM Volume 18 Issue 3. Advances in health knowledge management: New perspectives. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(3), 407–411. https://doi.org/10.34190/ejkm.18.3.2137
Vázquez-Quesada, L., Shukla, A., Vieitez, I., Acharya, R., & RamaRao, S. (2020). Abortion self-care: A forward-looking solution to inequitable access. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 46(Supplement 1), 91–95. https://doi.org/10.1363/46e1420
Villaseca, D., Navío-Marco, J., & Gimeno, R. (2020). Money for female entrepreneurs does not grow on trees: Start-ups’ financing implications in times of COVID-19. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-06-2020-0172
Wenham, C., Smith, J., & Morgan, R. (2020). COVID-19: The gendered impacts of the outbreak. The Lancet, 395(10227), 846–848. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30526-2
Wenham, C., Abagaro, C., Arévalo, A., Coast, E., Corrêa, S., Cuéllar, K., … Valongueiro, S. (2021). Analysing the intersection between health emergencies and abortion during Zika in Brazil, El Salvador and Colombia. Social Science & Medicine, 270, 113671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113671
WHO. (2019). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Health Topics.
WHO. (2020a). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Retrieved April 8, 2020, from Health Topics website: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
WHO. (2020b). WHO coronavirus disease (Covid-19) dashboard. Retrieved June 28, 2021, from WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard overview website: https://covid19.who.int
Woltz, S., Krijnen, P., Pieterse, A. H., & Schipper, I. B. (2018). Surgeons’ perspective on shared decision making in trauma surgery. A national survey. Patient Education and Counseling, 101(10), 1748–1752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2018.06.002
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage Publications.
Yule, S., & Smink, D. S. (2020). Non-technical skill countermeasures for pandemic response. Annals of Surgery, 272(3), e213–e215. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000004107
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dal Mas, F., Biancuzzi, H., Bednarova, R., Miceli, L. (2022). A Gender Perspective on Telemedicine. Early Results from the National Cancer Institute of Aviano Experience. In: Paoloni, P., Lombardi, R. (eds) Organizational Resilience and Female Entrepreneurship During Crises. SIDREA Series in Accounting and Business Administration. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89412-2_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89412-2_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-89411-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-89412-2
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)