Remote Monitoring Reduces Hospitalizations for Patients With Blood Cancers

For oncologists treating hematologic malignancies, infection management is a high-stakes challenge. Patients with lymphoma and myeloma face a significantly higher risk of mortality from infections compared to the general population. According to James Essell, MD, a medical oncologist at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute at OHC, the US Oncology Network, bridging the communication gap between patient and practice is critical to improving these outcomes.

In a recent interview, Essell discussed findings from a retrospective study on Canopy, a remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) platform. The data suggests that streamlined, app-based communication not only improves antibiotic stewardship but significantly reduces emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

The Communication Gap in Oncology

Essell noted that despite the availability of traditional patient portals, effective communication remains a hurdle in busy practices.

"In oncology practices, everyone's busy and trying to communicate back and forth between the office and the patients," Essell explained. "There's always that problem of patients waiting too long to communicate, and problems getting out of hand."

To address this, Essell’s team conducted a retrospective study comparing patients enrolled in the Canopy remote monitoring program against those who were not. The goal was to see if quicker communication regarding symptoms could alter clinical outcomes for patients with hematologic malignancies.

"We wanted to look specifically at infections, because patients with hematologic malignancies... have a much higher rate of death from infections than the general population," Essell said. "And we wanted to look if patients could communicate quicker, could this actually make an impact?"

Key Findings: Early Intervention Prevents Hospitalization

The study results highlighted a clear correlation between the use of the app, increased outpatient management, and decreased hospital utilization. Infection-related inpatient stays were significantly lower (2.6% vs 4.5%) and there were significantly fewer infection-related emergency room visits (6.6% vs 9.4%).

"The story fit really well when we went back and looked at the data," Essell stated. "Patients that could communicate through an app very quickly to a nurse and relay their symptoms, ended up getting more outpatient antibiotics… The rate of ER visits and hospitalizations was significantly lower."

The takeaway for practices is straightforward: "Communicating quicker, getting the patient into the office sooner, prevents more serious problems."

Streamlining Workflow for Clinic Staff

A common concern regarding RTM is the potential for increased administrative burden. However, Essell noted that the platform actually enhances efficiency through features like auto-enrollment and intelligent triage.

"It actually... makes the nurse and the clinic staff more effective in not doing so much paperwork," he said.

The software prioritizes patient alerts based on severity, ensuring that critical symptoms are addressed immediately while routine requests are managed appropriately.

"If the [patient] has severe symptoms—they have a fever, they're feeling weak, they're short of breath—that automatically goes to the nurse navigator's queue, turns red, and goes to the top of the list," Essell explained. This places urgent clinical needs ahead of more minor needs like refilling medications.

Additionally, the documentation process is automated. "The notes that [the triage nurses] take when they talk with a patient are automatically incorporated in the electronic health record." This allows seamless transition between members of the care team.

Bridging the Generational Divide

The study found that the benefits of remote monitoring were consistent across different patient demographics. While some providers worry about technology barriers for older adults, Essell observed high adaptability.

"One question that we get a lot is, 'What about the older patients? Can they handle this?' And actually, the older patients, I think, adapted very well to this," he noted.

Conversely, the platform also solves a behavioral issue common among younger patients. Essell recounted an interaction with a physician from the NCI Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) team: "This would be great, because our teenage patients will not call—they would rather die," Essell recalled the physician saying. "But an app to communicate, they're all over it. So, it kind of catches both extremes of the population very well."

The Future: Supporting CAR T and Bispecifics in the Community

Looking forward, Essell views remote monitoring as an essential tool for the migration of advanced therapies—such as bispecific T-cell engagers and CAR T-cell therapies—into community oncology settings. These treatments require vigilant monitoring for side effects like cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity.

For community practices without transplant centers, the learning curve for these therapies can be steep. RTM platforms can guide nontransplant nurses through specific symptom pathways.

"Something like this that helps the nurse navigator that's usually managing colon cancer and breast cancer, with managing CRS and neurotoxicity with specific pathways, is really important," Essell emphasized.

With over 2000 physicians and 50 practices currently utilizing the system, Essell believes the trajectory is clear.

"It's definitely the way of the future," he concluded. "The numbers are expanding, so that tells you that this is working."

REFERENCE

Essell J, Ascha M, Schaefer E, et al. Remote therapeutic monitoring reduces hospitalization due to infection in patients being treated for hematological malignancy. Presented at: 67th ASH Annual Meeting; December 6–9, 2025; Orlando, Florida. Abstract 131.