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Generous Gifts Support Studies to Improve Telemedicine for Head and Neck Cancer Patients With support from philanthropy, Henry Ford's Samantha Tam, M.D. is engaged in research examining how access and delivery of care affect patients with head and neck cancer. “There are a lot of advances in cancer treatments tied to technology and scientific discovery, but one of our continuing challenges is how we deliver care,” Dr. Tam said. “Unfortunately, policy isn’t always rooted in science and these types of studies are important for understanding how we can get quality care to everyone in a just and equitable way.” For example, Dr. Tam recently published research examining how factors like income level, gender and insurance status impacted access to telemedicine services for cancer patients receiving treatment at Henry Ford Allegiance Hospital since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also recently launched a new study with support from a philanthropically funded research grant, which provides resources for a three-year analysis of treatment fragmentation on outcomes for cancer patients. Dr. Tam will test the hypothesis that receiving coordinated care within an integrated system connecting surgical services, radiation, chemotherapy and more leads to better outcomes for head and neck cancer patients. “Philanthropy is an important tool for driving these types of studies,” Dr. Tam said. “It enables us to look at these questions around equity and access, and to allocate funding so that we’re best able to serve all of our patients.” |
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