Prompt Pain Relief From Bone Metastases: The Virtual Simulation Program.

Purpose: Rapid pain relief for patients with bone metastases can be a challenge due to the lengthy and complex radiation therapy workflow. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time (in days) between initial radiation oncology consultation and start of palliative radiation treatment after implementing an alternative virtual simulation palliative workflow.

Methods And Materials: Patients meeting strict criteria were selected for virtual simulation, which included only those with painful bone metastases who were recommended palliative radiation therapy using standard anterior-posterior/posterior-anterior or opposed lateral fields.