Continuous quality improvement in radiotherapy: implementation methodology and comparison of experiences

The Quality System (QS) was applied in the Italian Health Service in the late nineties with the identification of a methodology whose focus is also on nonspecific subjects which however are involved in health promotion. The quality handbook represents an instrument of QS, where the documentation and procedures which can make the policy and goals of a center accurately and extensively known, are collected. Continuous quality improvement is characterized by the adoption of the assessment culture according to dynamic processes. Since several years, in Italy, documents indicating the requirements, resources and goals radiotherapy centers should aim at, are being prepared together with the identification of means suitable for quality assurance in radiotherapy.