American Society for Radiation Oncology urges CMS to end virtual supervision of radiotherapy
The American Society for Radiation Oncology is urging the federal government to cease allowing physicians to monitor radiotherapy remotely—a suggestion that’s drawing criticism from some in the field.
ASTRO shared its thoughts in a recent letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, some practices utilized virtual supervision via real-time audio-visual technology, allowing the specialty to maintain services amid the public health emergency.
However, ASTRO does not believe this perk should continue indefinitely.
“For radiation therapy services delivered in an episode of care—including consultation, simulation, treatment planning, and treatment delivery—ASTRO disagrees with CMS’s assertion that there is an ‘absence of evidence that patient safety is compromised by virtual direct supervision….,’” CEO Laura I. Thevenot and Board Chair Jeff M. Michalski, MD, MBA, wrote to the agency Feb. 26. “Despite sophisticated safety and quality in radiation oncology, we do not believe that there are systems in place to accurately measure the safety of virtual supervision with the sensitivity needed to make such a definitive statement.”
As first reported by Medscape Wednesday, radiation oncologists have taken to social media to voice their disagreement with the letter.
Jason Beckta, MD, PhD, of Rutland Regional's Foley Cancer Center in Vermont, said he believes the letter reads “like an Onion article.”
"I'm struggling to understand the Luddite-level myopia around this topic," he said in a separate tweet. "Virtual direct/outpatient general supervision has done nothing but boost my productivity and in particular, face-to-face patient contact."
ASTRO acknowledged that there are varying opinions among the specialty on this topic. The association is currently working to balance such disagreement, while CMS is still considering how to handle the future of remote radiotherapy supervision.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.