A newly released white paper from the Canadian AI and Data in Radiotherapy Alliance (CADRA) is calling on the radiation medicine community to take a deliberate and collaborative approach to integrating AI into clinical practice.
The paper, jointly published June 25 in the Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physicists and the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, was developed through a partnership between the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT), the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO), and the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP).
"This paper... presents a collaborative perspective on preparing for an AI-enabled future in radiation medicine, emphasizing that AI must be understood and governed as a tool shaped by human values, professional judgment, and patient priorities," the authors wrote.
The white paper focuses on three areas the authors consider underaddressed in existing literature: responsible governance and oversight, education and evolving scopes of practice, and the need for interprofessional and pan-Canadian collaboration. The paper also highlights meaningful inclusion of the patient voice runs throughout all three.
On governance, the paper recommends that radiation therapy centers assess their readiness for data sharing and establish dedicated AI oversight structures at both the local and system level. It also urges professional associations to maintain expert AI committees capable of guiding their memberships through rapid technological change.
The authors argue that AI literacy must be embedded across entry-to-practice curricula and continuing professional development programs. These should not be delivered as standalone modules, but woven into training in treatment planning, quality assurance, ethics, and patient care, they wrote. The newly revised CAMRT Entry-to-Practice Competency Profile is cited as a model for how digital literacy and AI awareness can be integrated alongside core professional competencies.
On the patient side, the paper stresses that trust is not assumed but earned. It calls for patients and caregivers to move beyond episodic consultation toward defined roles in AI governance, priority-setting, and oversight. This includes transparency around how patient data is used in AI development.
CADRA also highlights Canada's unique position to serve as an international pilot for AI and big data adoption in radiation medicine, given the size of its healthcare system and the coordination among its 51 radiation treatment centers.
"AI should be guided by human judgment, shared standards, and patient priorities, rather than treated as an automatic solution," the authors wrote.
Read the full white paper here.
