2.1 Bradley W. Schuller, PhD

The rapidly changing healthcare environment has placed pressure on the medical physics community to define new areas of professional growth and demonstrated value. The recent AAPM initiative called, “MedPhys 3.0” (https://www.aapm.org/MedPhys30/), aims to “redefine and reinvigorate the role of physics in modern medicine”, and it calls on the community to utilize our technical expertise to increase visibility and expand into new areas of practice. Some opportunities for growth and expansion may exist outside of traditional medical physics practice and could place the clinical physicist in a more direct and collaborative role in clinical care with both the patient and physician. One such opportunity is for clinical medical physicists to meet with every patient during the initial consult to serve as an information resource and a guide through the complex treatment process. With all of the remarkable advancements in modern cancer care leading to better outcomes and increased survival with fewer side effects, the patient care pathway can be fragmented, confusing and difficult to navigate. The clinical medical physicist is ideally placed to help mitigate some of these difficulties, and along the way, help to establish trust, provide information, and reduce anxiety for the patient.

Let us first take a closer look at the current environment patients face today. Patients are asked to navigate a complicated, multidisciplinary landscape where they are expected to comprehend the information they need to make appropriate decisions about their care. They may encounter a myriad of imaging tests, surgical consults, medical and radiation oncology consults, pathology reports, and in many cases, holistic and alternative care options. When encountering each of these specialties, the patient will have to manage potentially confusing medical jargon, acronyms, cancer staging, complicated treatment concepts (e.g., genetic testing), and various treatment options that might elicit fear and anxiety. Radiation therapy has the potential of being a substantial source of anxiety, which largely stems from the general public's lack of understanding of radiation's role in medicine coupled with sensationalized media reports about nuclear weapons and radiation accidents.1 Therefore, communicating the risks vs. benefits of medical radiation may be ineffective or complicated by patient fear, and this could negatively impact the patient's decision making process.1 Outside of the clinical setting, patients have increasing access to online medical information that can assist with medical education and decision making. However, recent reports have indicated that online patient education materials deviate from NIH and AMA recommendations for levels of complexity and readability. Prabhu et al. and Rosenberg et al. recently ran independent studies where online patient education materials from major professional websites and academic radiation oncology departments were evaluated for readability at the recommended reading level. They both found that online education materials are written to a collegiate reading level, which far exceeds the recommended middle‐school reading level.2, 3 All of these factors have the potential of increasing patient distress, and this has been shown to lead to decreased survival following cancer therapy.4

What can medical physicists do to help? We are uniquely positioned to serve as an information resource for patients during a formalized meeting at the initial consult. First, the clinical medical physicist must establish an individual relationship with each patient. This will establish trust that their radiation treatment is being managed by a physicist who is specifically trained in the medical application of science and technology and has advanced knowledge in the use of medical radiation. As a result, the patient will identify the medical physicist as the technical authority and information resource, and as the relationship develops, the medical physicist will serve as a guide to help the patient navigate the technical aspects of their care. This new role can contribute to a patient's increased understanding, reduced anxiety, and increased satisfaction with their healthcare experience.

Atwood et al. have invited clinical medical physicists to reject the notion that we should only work behind the scenes, and they urge the community to establish new roles in direct patient care.5 As a result, we will have increased visibility in front of the patient leading to increased overall visibility to the rest of the clinical staff, hospital administration, and the general public. These are the keys to ensuring a robust and enduring future for medical physicists in a rapidly changing healthcare environment. Clinical medical physicists make an intentional choice to not only be scientists in medicine, but to practice medicine itself, and if we take steps to emphasize the “medical” component of medical physics in our clinical practice, we will unlock new and rewarding roles in patient care.