Improving proton therapy accessibility through seamless electronic integration of remote treatment planning sites.

Abstract Objectives: Proton radiotherapy is a relatively scarce treatment modality in radiation oncology, with only nine centers currently operating in the United States. Funded by Public Law 107-248, the University of Pennsylvania and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center have developed a remote proton radiation therapy solution with the goals of improving access to proton radiation therapy for Department of Defense (DoD) beneficiaries while minimizing treatment delays and time spent away from home/work (time savings of up to 3 weeks per patient). Materials and Methods: To meet both Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act guidelines and the more stringent security restrictions imposed by the DoD, our program developed a hybrid remote proton radiation therapy solution merging a CITRIX server with a Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC)-certified desktop videoconferencing unit. This conduit, thoroughly tested over a period of 6 months, integrates both institutions' radiation oncology treatme...