By Julie Abilheira

This year marks a significant milestone—SROA’s 40^th Annual Meeting. That’s 40 years of serving radiation oncology administrators with an annual conference filled with speakers, workshops, events and networking opportunities with their specific needs in mind. Each year SROA is joined by new administrators looking to gain knowledge and make connections.

By Aaron Brammer

This blog post is modified from an article that appeared in Radiation Oncology News for Administrators Vol 33 No 2.

In 2023, SROA and the American Society for Radiation Oncol­ogy (ASTRO) have teamed up to tackle payor challenges. Both societies are collecting examples of inappropriate denials and delays in care and identifying trends and themes. We will be meeting with the payors to present patient cases and scenarios of commonly experienced, inappropriate prior-authorization trends.

By Lea Woods

This blog post is modified from an article that appeared in Radiation Oncology News for Administrators Vol 33 No 2.  

When the pandemic started, we temporarily closed one of our two facilities and transferred our three radiation therapists (RTs) to our facility in Rock Hill, SC. We divided our 10 RTs into two teams. One team worked remotely for two weeks while the other team was hands-on in the clinic.

By Tammy McCausland

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which has been observed since 1949.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a tremendous impact on the mental health of children, teens and adults. No industry was left untouched. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “Over the course of the pandemic, many adults reported symptoms consistent with anxiety and depression, with approximately four in ten adults reporting these symptoms by early 2021, before declining to approximately three in ten adults as the pandemic continued.”¹

By Tammy McCausland

This blog post is modified from an article that appeared in Radiation Oncology News for Administrators Vol 32 No 5.  

Denial are complex, time consuming, costly to rectify and increasing yearly.

Payers complicate the billing process by creating their own rules. And now they’re using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to deny more claims.¹

By Tammy McCausland

This blog post is modified from an article that appeared in Radiation Oncology News for Administrators Vol 32 No 4.  

In 1959, D. L. Dewey and J. W. Boag first reported FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT), a novel radiotherapy technology defined as a single ultra-high dose-rate (≥ 40 Gy/s) radiotherapy.¹ They called it the “flash effect.”¹

MRT, RPT, PRRT . . . whatever you’re calling it, radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) has been a major topic of discussion at nuclear medicine conferences for the past six years. Efforts to bring radiopharmaceutical therapies into the clinic are snowballing and hold promise for benefiting patients. Recently, the topic has also started gaining traction in radiation oncology conferences.

This blog post is modified from an article that appeared in Radiation Oncology News for Administrators Vol 32 No 3.

I have always been an organizer and a planner. As a radiation therapist I used a notebook agenda for professional daily goals and activities. Now I use my Outlook calendar for organizing work meetings and notes. Outlook offers a good high-level view of my day.

Barbara Khozam gave the first general session presentation on Day 3 of SROA’s 2022 Annual Meeting. Khozam explained that organizations can achieve exceptional Customer Service using G.I.F.T.

Barbara Khozam is an expert speaker in customer service, leadership, motivation, and communication. She wrote How Organizations Deliver BAD Customer Service (and Strategies that Turn it Around).

Ann Miner and Stephen Miller presented on the outcomes of accreditation.

Employee engagement is at the forefront of administrators’ minds. Engaging staff in quality improvement is important. Engaged team members impact outcomes, and the entire continuum of care. Quality improvement presents an opportunity to rediscover the fun and enjoyment in work; enables staff to connect in multidisciplinary teams, rediscovering what motivates them, and taking ownership of how they respond to the changing healthcare landscape; and prepare for challenges face in delivering best and safe practice.