Melissa Andres Explains the Patient Navigator's Role in Eliminating Barriers

Many Americans with health insurance are not fully covered for frontline procedures to treat lymphedema—a debilitating condition that often affects patients with cancer.

Linda Bloom, MPA, RN, OCN, highlights how tools such as audio interpretation technology and clear masks can help nurses and patients overcome communication barriers in oncology.

Younger populations and African American patients are most impacted.

“We’ve had periods of time where things were shut down. We do have telemedicine, that was expanded, but telemedicine doesn’t work for everyone. If you don’t have internet access, if you don’t have the ability to understand the technology….”

Linda Bloom, MPA, RN, OCN, explains how amplifiers and audio interpreter tablets can be vital resources during cancer care.

Patients with colorectal cancer or non–small cell lung cancer who were treated in the outpatient setting and were not admitted 30 days prior to diagnosis experienced a statistically significant increase in delay of time to treatment initiation.