From the November 2022 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


HCB News: What kind of advantages come with being a member of University of Utah Health?
AM: As alluded to above, belonging to U of U Health can help with collaboration with other departments and groups, such as population sciences, medical informatics, radiology, and medical oncology. But it goes beyond just the healthcare system. Being part of a huge university gives us access to researchers in other areas on campus that would not typically collaborate with radiation oncology, such as bioengineering, material sciences, and applied physics. I believe that fostering collaborative relationships with these disciplines will be mutually beneficial, and this is much easier to achieve at a place like the University of Utah.

HCB News: You took on your new role in early June, has anything surprised you in the first few months?

AM: I had spoken to many people as I was interviewing and over the many months between when I accepted the position and when I started (June 1). Hence, I can honestly say that there have been no surprises; the job is exactly what I thought it would be.

HCB News: Do you see the pandemic altering cancer care in any fundamental, long-term ways?
AM: As a result of the pandemic and limitations on resources, and patients wanting to travel less, many places started to use radiotherapy regimens that required a fewer number of treatments (hypofractionation), often completed within 1-2 weeks (as opposed to 5 weeks or longer, as was the case for many curative cases, which was the standard decades ago). This trend had already been taking place in the radiation oncology field, but the pandemic accelerated this. As things slowly return to normal, I think there will be continued interest in using these regimens. Hypofractionation is an active area of research in clinical trials being conducted worldwide, including our department. This is a more appealing option for patients who live outside of the Wasatch Front.

During the pandemic, many groups turned to working from home. The pandemic forced us to better use remote video platforms, like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. As we return to normal, I foresee that healthcare will be fundamentally changed in that certain sectors will be allowed to work from home, if not permanently, then perhaps 1-2 days a week. This would obviously not work with staff who must have physical contact with patients to do their job, but we have already seen this in radiation oncology with billing personnel currently doing some of their job from home.

HCB News: What is one of the most important lessons you’ve learned in your career?
AM: When making an important decision, make sure to get as much information as possible and input from many different people. Sticking with the status quo requires the least amount of effort, but to make any change requires energy. In trying to institute major change, there is often a natural resistance. In these cases, it is especially important to get buy-in from key stakeholders.

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