Ways of increasing access to radiation therapy
Paul Naine, director of global clinical operations at Elekta, explains why evolving human capabilities alongside technology is the key to improving access to radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy plays a critical role in helping cancer patients to fight the disease - in fact up to 50% of cancer patients would benefit from radiation therapy as part of their treatment and for 40% of people it is a cure.
In many areas of the world, radiation therapy is not accessible, and patients are not receiving the treatment they need. It is estimated that an increase in access to radiation therapy could save more than one million lives per year, yet it is historically and continually underfunded, hampering efforts to provide more therapies more quickly for more people.
There have been significant advances in radiation therapy technology that can provide personalised precision treatments for a fraction of the cost of chemotherapy, or surgery. In recent years technologies like machine learning and advanced automation have resulted in a reduction in product complexity that will make radiation therapy treatments more accessible, addressing cancer as a global public health challenge. However, like any technology it must be both available and effectively utilised to have an impact.
Synchronise user knowledge in line with technological advances to create capacity
With these new technological capabilities, the clinical users of the technology must be equipped with the appropriate knowledge to optimise its use. In today’s world of ‘information on demand’ there is an opportunity to re-think how, and more importantly when clinical user knowledge is created. Historically we often have used academic education and training courses providing knowledge ‘up-front’, but we can increasingly blend this ‘up-front’ learning with continual knowledge-on-demand methodologies. This hybrid approach means we minimise the duration and cost of initial knowledge, thus creating an effective clinical workforce faster, while the continuous ‘information on-demand’ component ensures that over time the clinical workforce not only increases in skill but is continually matched to the evolving technologies.
In radiation therapy this is accomplished by focusing role-specific knowledge on accomplishing a clinical go-live or clinical milestone (e.g. VMAT, Stereotactic or Adaptive treatment) as efficiently and effectively as possible. This was highlighted during a recent webinar of the Global Coalition for Radiotherapy, where an unlikely comparison of radiation therapy with spaceflight was presented as two areas of rapid technological advancement that dramatically changed user knowledge requirements.
This doesn’t mean diminishing or devaluing the role of the clinical team in terms of what they know; instead, it highlights the need to re-examine the knowledge that is essential to carry out the role effectively, allowing clinical experts to gain the expertise they need when they need it.
Access to care is access to knowledge
A critical requirement of access to knowledge is the use of learning technology available to deliver knowledge when needed. Digital platforms, e-learnings, and webinars support providing scalable knowledge, while remote coaching and mentorship partnerships help to provide global connections and collaborations. Provisions like gamified treatment planning platforms, such as that offered by Elekta’s Planning Academy, can help learners compare plans with peers across the world as well as gaining access to on demand video classes from featured experts. Digital Adoption Platforms can provide online integrated guides, allowing learners to perform specific tasks, giving them the knowledge as and when they need it.
Access to the right knowledge at the right time is crucial to be able to improve access to radiation therapy and tackle the global cancer challenge. Reimagining our approaches on how clinical professionals can reach and maintain the levels of knowledge that they need and providing them with new ways to keep up to date with ever evolving technology can lay the foundations for change and help to save lives.