Perspectives on Health Disparities and Inequities in Radiation Oncology and Opportunities for Medical Physicists: From Awareness to Action

Quantifying the Risk of Technology-Driven Health Disparities in Radiation Oncology

PURPOSE

New technologies are continuously emerging in radiation oncology. Inherent technological limitations can result in health care disparities in vulnerable patient populations. These limitations must be considered for existing and new technologies in the clinic to provide equitable care.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We created a health disparity risk assessment metric inspired by failure mode and effects analysis. We provide sample patient populations and their potential associated disparities, guidelines for clinics and vendors, and example applications of the methodology.

RESULTS

A disparity risk priority number can be calculated from the product of 3 quantifiable metrics: the percentage of patients impacted, the severity of the impact of dosimetric uncertainty or quality of the radiation plan, and the clinical dependence on the evaluated technology. The disparity risk priority number can be used to rank the risk of suboptimal care due to technical limitations when comparing technologies and to plan interventions when technology is shown to have inequitable performance in the patient population of a clinic.

CONCLUSIONS

The proposed methodology may simplify the evaluation of how new technology impacts vulnerable populations, help clinics quantify the limitations of their technological resources, and plan appropriate interventions to improve equity in radiation treatments.