Simply introducing a default physician order—a "nudge"—into electronic health records (EHRs) cut the use of unnecessary daily imaging in half during palliative radiation therapy sessions for patients with advanced cancer, according to a Penn Medicine study published today in JAMA Oncology. While daily imaging is typically used in curative cancer treatment, national guidelines recommend providers transition to weekly imaging for palliative radiotherapy sessions. Daily imaging unnecessarily extends the duration of each radiation therapy session for palliative care patients who are often in pain or discomfort from the progression of cancer.
* This article was originally published here
