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Sep 27
Workshop

Workshop 07 - When Disaster Strikes: Safeguarding Radiotherapy's Value and Continuity Across Catastrophic Events

02:30pm - 04:00pm ET
Health Care Access and Community Engagement

MODERATOR(S)

Katie Lichter, MD, MD MPH - Dartmouth Cancer Center

Fumiko Chino, MD - MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston

session DESCRIPTION

Radiation oncology is uniquely vulnerable to disruptions caused by severe weather events, cyberattacks, power failures and other catastrophic system breakdowns. Because fractionated radiotherapy requires uninterrupted delivery to maintain tumor control and uphold treatment quality, disaster preparedness is a fundamental component of radiotherapy's value. Yet many departments lack robust, radiation-specific preparedness frameworks, operational protocols, and internal quality safeguards that address these increasingly common threats. This session provides a comprehensive, action-oriented framework for safeguarding radiotherapy continuity across catastrophic events. Speakers with expertise in climate-related operational disruptions, cybersecurity/RIS-EHR failures, and health-system disaster planning will examine both external system threats and the internal quality mechanisms that can serve as universal lines of defense when disruptions occur. Content will include actionable triage pathways, communication protocols, IT-dependent workflow redundancies, emergency command structures, resilience metrics, and quality-focused peer review strategies to preserve safety and quality under stress. Case studies from major cancer centers will illustrate real-world challenges and solutions. Participants will leave with practical tools to strengthen departmental preparedness, protect patient safety, communicate radiotherapy's value, and maintain continuity of care under crisis conditions — aligning directly with the 2026 ASTRO theme, "Data to Dialogue: Communicating Radiotherapy's Value to Advance Care."

learning objectives

  1. Identify vulnerabilities in radiation oncology systems across climate, cyber and infrastructure-related disasters using an all-hazards framework.
  2. Implement practical strategies to maintain radiotherapy continuity during system disruptions, including triage protocols, communication pathways and departmental workflows.
  3. Apply disaster-resilience metrics and quality-improvement tools to strengthen institutional preparedness and protect radiotherapy's value during catastrophic events.

Credits

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits: 1.50

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