UF Health Virtual Human Intervention Allows for Colorectal Cancer Screening From Home

A new University of Florida Health intervention gives patients who qualify access to colorectal cancer screening information and tests from the comfort of their own homes.

Two UF studies in Psycho-Oncology and the Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces examine new ways to effectively reach all patients with a new communication tool using a virtual health assistant, or VHA, to deliver a colorectal cancer screening program.

 When the studies began five years ago, COVID-19 wasn’t a factor. Now, as a result of the pandemic, many health care appointments have moved to telemedicine — the use of various digital technologies to help patients connect remotely with their care providers and to even get medications prescribed.

“The ability to deliver medical care remotely or through telehealth is emerging as a way to overcome some barriers that patients face, including travel, time away from work, family responsibilities and cost,” said Thomas George, M.D., FACP, associate director for clinical research at the UF Health Cancer Center and a collaborator on the studies.

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