AHCPPD Recommendations

As a direct result of visits to Corporate Affiliates Varian Medical Systems, Accuray and Elekta, in addition to recommendations from corporate representatives who participated in the June 2016 Corporate Roundtable Discussion, and coupled with the need to establish marketing initiatives that promote the synergistic relationship between AAPM and its vendors, the following recommendations are submitted for consideration by the Executive Committee and the Board

Vendor outreach and engagement:

Both groups, the senior executives of large radiotherapy vendors and the participants of “Corporate Roundtable” expressed their appreciation for the concerted AAPM efforts in fostering closer collaboration and interactions with its corporate partners. The following suggestions/recommendations emerged from our discussions with them;

• Establish a Corporate Advisory Committee that is representative of the corporate members’ pool

• Leverage the importance of medical physicist’s role in the decision- making process of equipment procurement.

• Ensure that medical physics maintains its focus on interconnectivity and interoperability of clinical devices

• Promote the role of medical physicists in patient safety and quality assurance

• Create opportunities for the corporate partners to collaborate with AAPM in providing early guidance in the safe and efficient clinical implementation of new devices and procedures.

• Create more opportunities to grow the use of radiation therapy

• Provide opportunities for the vendors to interact with AAPM members and leadership

• Consider establishment of a top-tier affiliation (Corporate Partnership) that provides added elements considered attractive to a vendor that is already at the Corporate Affiliate level.

  
  

  Meetings:

  The vendor representatives had following suggestions for AAPM to consider;

  National-

• Find improved ways to drive traffic to booth areas during meetings

• Coordinate solicitations of financial support from vendors by special interest groups within APPM

• Bundle various programs in addition to offering an a la carte menu of sponsorship options

  Chapter Specific-

• Improve coordination and promote consistent scheduling of chapter meetings on the AAPM web site’s calendar

• Encourage establishment of uniform guidelines among chapters for meeting space and payment of invoices (promote acceptance of vendor payment to the National Office versus to individual chapters)

• Heighten awareness among chapter leaders that each vendor’s marketing budget is comprised of a fixed amount of sponsorship dollars, which is apportioned among chapters and opportunities at the national level

• Ensure that the listing of chapter officials and/or contact person(s) is current

  Global-

• Champion the use of safe implementation of technologies worldwide

• Place emphasis on unifying and coordinating standards and harmonizing those across various agencies

• Develop programs and training modules for developing markets (e.g., LMICs where the infrastructure to support new technology is often spotty and not reliable)

• Provide extended training sessions in conjunction with groups and meetings (e.g., incorporate training session in Chinese/Spanish language at the Spring Clinical Meeting and market same)

• Market programs that attract an international audience – perhaps incorporate this segment into a “traveling Best of AAPM road show.”

  
  

  New Programming and Initiatives:

  The vendor representatives had following suggestions for new AAPM programs and initiatives;

• Explore establishment of an L.L.C. or not-for-profit arm of AAPM which creates a platform by which AAPM members are contracted to provide a vendor with unbiased assessment of an emerging technology they are developing or have developed. This may incorporate:

  • Introduction of Blue Ribbon Panels which employ an arms-length consulting option to corporations.

  • Technology assessment and/or early guidance document funded by the vendor with the objective to produce a work product in the form a white paper or a report (proprietary to the company but with the option to ultimately publish in peer reviewed journals if appropriate.)

  • Facilitating early risk assessment of new products and QA/QM programs.

  • Pre-product release feedback and early clinical guidance

• Provide training to help users improve their skillsets

• Enable opportunities for corporate physicists to obtain clinic time as a means to keep up with their skills (Note: this might work for small clinic physicists as well), e.g., curriculum technical training modules

• Implement focused training opportunities similar to ASTRO-IMRT training sessions

• Promote technology-driven sessions rather than vendor-specific sessions

• Create opportunities that allow vendor training that focuses on new user training

• Introduce Tips ‘n Tricks-type sessions at meetings which provide creative uses for tricky situations that enable a user base to become more comfortable with technology

• Incorporate Plan-A-Thons – which are always a “hot topic” segment

• Feature special student sessions

• Enhance the current Partners in the Future segment to include workshops and hands-on segments

• Tweak the Task Groups process and outcomes

  • Stress the value of independence that a task group brings

  • Upstream marketing ideas and downstream technology assessment

  • Make it affordable and appealing to small companies as well as big

  • Early guidance in the clinical implementation of new products and services

  • Improvements to ensure that task groups are more formalized and of benefit – sooner rather than years down the road

  • Disseminate information that industry partners may recommend a task group be established by approaching AAPM chairs or AAPM leadership

    
    

    Corporate Affiliate/Partnership Stewardship:

• All solicitations to vendors (sponsors) by AAPM Committees and Subcommittees as well as internal outreach by the Meetings and Educational departments be coordinated through the Corporate Partnerships portal. This ensures that annual Fulfillment Reports to AAPM Corporate Affiliates/Corporate Partners are accurate and are properly acknowledged. This also aids in developing strategic marketing initiatives that may be bundled or offered in different formats to secure commitments at higher giving levels.

  
  

  Other Collaborations:

• AAPM establish itself as the lead among its “sister” organizations pertaining to issues relevant to Government Relations outreach, working collaboratively to achieve agreement as it pertains to specific issues, the rise of terrorism, emerging concerns about radioactive materials, and challenges that affect patient safety, quality assurance, through the use of emerging or existing technology.

  
  

  HIGH PRIORITIES AND ACTION ITEMS:

• Establish a Corporate Advisory Committee

• All national vendor “asks” for corporate sponsorship be coordinated and vetted through the Corporate Partnerships portal

• Bundle sponsorship packages; develop an a la carte menu

• Investigate L.L.C. opportunities

• Market the importance of the medical physicist in the decision-making process

• Commit to creating more opportunities for interaction between AAPM vendors and its members/Leadership