System Design for Robust Business Continuity in Radiotherapy

Cybersecurity attacks can make radiotherapy data unavailable. These data are the inputs and outputs of connected function machines that describe the workflow. Business continuity and disaster recovery plans should focus on prevention, failover systems, and alternative workflows. The development of these plans involves the creation of detailed maps of the workflow with multiple variations of the inputs, outputs, and processes for different scenarios. As these details require comprehensive knowledge of radiotherapy, collaboration between vendors, information technology staff, and clinical staff is essential. The use of paper and hard drives may be needed, and the linear accelerator treatments may need to be done with DICOM-RT files. The preparation for a cybersecurity attack takes a lot of people, time, and effort, and is essential for protecting patient outcomes.