Data-driven management using quantitative metric and automatic auditing program (QMAP) improves consistency of...

Area of Science:

• Radiation Oncology
• Healthcare Process Improvement
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Process consistency is vital for safe and efficient radiation therapy.
• Timely completion of clinical tasks is a key aspect of process consistency.
• Delays in radiation therapy can compromise patient safety and treatment quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the experience of implementing a quantitative metric and automatic auditing program (QMAP).
• To assess the effectiveness of QMAP in improving the timely completion of critical clinical tasks in radiation therapy.

Main Methods:

• Developed a software program integrated with electronic medical records to track task completion timestamps.
• Implemented automatic alerts for potential task delinquency, directed to triage teams.
• Introduced 18 metrics into clinical workflow since July 2011 and compared delinquency rates before and after implementation.

Main Results:

• Late treatment plan completion reduced from 18.2% (2011) to 4.2% (2016).
• Late weekly physics checks decreased from 8.9% (2011) to 0.1% (2016).
• Late physician visits and cone beam CT reviews also significantly decreased.

Conclusions:

• QMAP is effective in reducing the late completion of critical tasks in radiation therapy.
• This reduction positively impacts treatment quality and patient safety.
• Minimizing delays reduces potential errors from distractions, interruptions, and rushed work.