It's well known that lower radiotherapy rates can result in poorer outcomes for patients. We also know that radiotherapy centres are costly to build and staff, limiting where they can be built. In our research agenda, we hope to see whether increasing travel distance is associated with any decrease in radiotherapy utilisation. Planned research will examine the financial and quality of life associations with increasing travel distance.
A/Prof Richard is a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at Austin Health in Melbourne. His doctorate thesis focused on large scale database linkages, health services and machine learning in Radiation Oncology. Having grown up in regional Queensland and previously working in regional Victoria, he has always had an interest in the specific issues that patients face when living outside metropolitan cities. He has published several papers regarding radiotherapy, how frequently radiotherapy is used for cancer patients, and the effect of travel distance on service utilisation. Currently, Richard is the lead clinician on the VCCC Value-Based Healthcare Program, project "Disparities in radiotherapy access in Victoria".
