ASTRO and AAPM announce RO-ILS: Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System (RO-ILS)

WHAT: Together, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) will share details about RO-ILS: Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System, a new, national patient safety initiative to facilitate safer and higher quality radiation oncology care. RO-ILS is the only medical specialty society-sponsored radiation oncology incident learning system within a federally listed Patient Safety Organization (PSO), Clarity PSO. Data collected will educate the radiation oncology community about how to improve safety and patient care.

WHEN:            

Thursday, June 19, 2014, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET (Boxed lunches will be served.)

WHERE:           

B-339 Rayburn House Office Building,
United States House of Representatives
45 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20515

WHO:              

Co-Hosted by:  U.S. Representatives Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.)

Colleen A.F. Lawton, MD, FASTRO, Chair, ASTRO’s Board of Directors, and Vice-Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Director of Radiation Oncology and Professor of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

John E. Bayouth, PhD, President, AAPM, Professor and Chief of Physics, Department of Human Oncology, The University of Wisconsin, Madison

Jeff Brady, MD, MPH, Captain, U.S. Public Health Service, and Director, Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

LIVE WEBCAST: www.astro.org/RO-ILSwebcast

ABOUT ASTRO

ASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologist, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals that specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research, and advocacy. ASTRO publishes two medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (redjournal.org) and Practical Radiation Oncology (www.practicalradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website, www.rtanswers.org; and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (roinstitute.org), a non-profit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more about ASTRO, visit www.astro.org.

ABOUT AAPM

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is the scientific, educational and professional nonprofit organization devoted to the discipline of physics in medicine. An applied branch of physics experts concerned with the application of the concepts and methods of physics to the diagnosis and treatment of human disease, medical physicists (MPs) are committed to assuring the safe and effective delivery of radiation to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic result as prescribed in patient care. MPs perform or supervise the technical aspects of procedures necessary and are responsible for: the protection of the patient and others from potentially harmful or excessive radiation; establishment of adequate protocols to ensure accurate patient dosimetry; the measurement and characterization of radiation; the determination of delivered dose; advancement of procedures necessary to ensure image quality; development and direction of quality assurance programs; assistance to other health care professionals in optimizing the balance between the beneficial and deleterious effects of radiation; and compliance with applicable federal and state regulations. To learn more about AAPM, visit www.aapm.org.

 

Around the web

CCTA is being utilized more and more for the diagnosis and management of suspected coronary artery disease. An international group of specialists shared their perspective on this ongoing trend.

The new technology shows early potential to make a significant impact on imaging workflows and patient care. 

Richard Heller III, MD, RSNA board member and senior VP of policy at Radiology Partners, offers an overview of policies in Congress that are directly impacting imaging.