[Cost of quality assurance in radiotherapy: human and material requirements]

In 2004, three new important laws were passed concerning radiotherapy services. The first two concerns the internal and external quality control of linear accelerators and the last concerns the role of the medical physicist, whose presence was made mandatory during the whole length of the treatments. These laws, which aim to improve the quality and the security of treatments, represent an increase in price that we have calculated, and which prevents them being implemented, as a joint study realised by the SFRO and the SFPM has shown. The cost of quality in radiotherapy requires investment in material and manpower and improvement in availability of the accelerators which entails a complete reorganisation of the services. Cost analysis is included. The difficulties in implementing these laws have also been evaluated and this evaluation already enables us to propose certain elements enabling us to go forward to globally improve the quality and security in radiotherapy.