July 25, 2007 - Recent enhancements to Varian Medical System’s ARIA Oncology Information System are designed to improve the integration between medical and radiation oncology treatment information, and support more flexible data gathering.
The electronic medical record (EMR) has been modified so that medical and radiation oncology treatment information appear on the same assessment screens, providing clinicians with a more comprehensive look at a patient’s complete treatment history. Also, new customizable data collection forms enable treatment centers to capture and aggregate data about treatments and side effects in order to identify trends and continually improve treatment quality. Other enhancements reportedly streamline the image review process for the oncologist, who can remotely access, study, review and approve more types of images. This is essential for the adoption of sophisticated IGRT and dynamic adaptive radiotherapy approaches to treatment.