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AM24 Call for Abstracts opens Friday, H&N LBAs submissions, New RO-ILS case study

January 3, 2024

 
ASTRO 2024: Don’t miss the call for education sessions and call for abstracts
ASTRO is broadening the call for education session proposal submissions to diversify and enrich the education program by accepting a wider range of proposals on various topics. Education Session submissions will be accepted through next Monday, January 8. And, the Call for Abstracts opens in just two days! Now’s the time to start planning your submission. Be sure to review the abstract submission guidelines thoroughly. Abstract submissions are due March 12, 2024. We invite you to share your knowledge and research by submitting an education session proposal and/or an abstract for ASTRO 2024!
 
‘24 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium: Answer the call for late-breaking abstracts
Do you have a late-breaking abstract you’d like to submit? A late-breaking abstract is an original research abstract containing important late-breaking research results that were not available prior to the regular abstract submission deadline. The research is limited to highly significant and timely findings and cannot be a revision of an abstract submitted prior to the regular submission deadline. Learn more and complete your submission by January 11. Also, make plans to join your colleagues as registration and housing are open for the 2024 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium being held from February 29 – March 2 in Phoenix.
 
Workshop on combining immunotherapy with radiotherapy
NCI is hosting a workshop to take place on January 16-17, both in person at the Natcher Conference Center on the main NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and virtually. The workshop will bring together senior leaders and experts as well as junior investigators and trainees who are focused on the therapeutic interactions between radiation and immunotherapies. The workshop is free; learn more and register here.
 
CMS rings in the new year with physician cuts
On January 1, millions of dollars in additional Medicare payment cuts went into effect. Since 2013, Medicare has cut payments for radiation oncology services more than 23%. New legislation (HR 6883) would fix the conversion factor cuts that started January 1. Tell your representatives and senators to act now and reverse these Medicare cuts.
 
New RO-ILS Case Study: Make time for timeouts!
RO-ILS Case Study 17 shares an incident in which a patient was treated with another patient’s treatment plan. While the patient’s identity was verified, it was not matched to the plan loaded up at the treatment console. More than 10 RO-ILS educational resources were released into the public domain in 2023 to support widespread safety and quality improvement. Take this opportunity to review RO-ILS education, take stock of facility-specific incident learning trends, and set safety goals for 2024!
 
APEx welcomes new facilities
Congratulations to the following facilities for achieving accreditation through ASTRO’s APEx - Accreditation Program for Excellence®:  
  • Hendersonville Hospital, d/b/a Margaret Pardee Memorial Hospital – Hendersonville, North Carolina 
  • Cedars-Sinai Medical Center – Los Angeles 

And congratulations to Froedtert South – Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, for achieving reaccreditation with APEx. View a list of accredited facilities and contact ASTRO staff to learn why APEx is The Right Choice™ to accredit your radiation oncology practice. 

 
Reminder: Call for ASTRO Guideline Task Force applications
ASTRO is initiating a task force to develop a guideline on Radiation Therapy for Gastric Cancer. To expand the pool of potential task force members, a new process has been implemented so interested members may apply for consideration. Please apply or forward this information if you know of any colleagues that may be interested. The application deadline is Monday, January 8.
 
IHE-RO releases Exchange of Radiation Therapy Summary for trial implementation
IHE-RO, an ASTRO and AAPM sponsored initiative to improve technology functionality within radiation oncology, released Exchange of Radiation Therapy Summary (XRTS) for trial implementation. XRTS is an HL7 FHIR based integration profile specifying how radiation oncology information systems (OIS) need to report the summary of a radiotherapy patient treatment to the patient Electronic Health Records (EHR) in hospital information systems. The emphasis is on prescription and final patient outcome, not delivery details. With this profile, the radiotherapy treatment information will be available in the EHR so all medical staff can provide safer and better care to cancer patients.
 
Refreshed RadOnc Toolbox offers easy access to clinical resources
The Radiation Oncology Institute (ROI) — ASTRO’s foundation — recently overhauled the RadOnc Toolbox, a point of care reference to support evidence-based practice. The updated app places ASTRO guidelines, a collection of calculators and nomograms, dose constraints, toxicity scales and many more oncology resources at your fingertips. Download the RadOnc Toolbox on the App Store or Google Play or visit rotoolbox.org.
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