Compliance of Interventional Radiologists With Interventional Oncology Accreditation Standards

We aimed to evaluate interventional radiologists' compliance with patient care and the quality management process of cancer patients using a national survey.

An electronic survey was designed with questions derived from the core criteria of the International Accreditation System for Interventional Oncology (IASIOS), with the approval of the IASIOS council. Among the interventional radiologists contacted by e-mail through the national association, 34 responded to the questionnaire. The agreement of the participants with the core requirements was evaluated in five questions consisting of 34 articles using the 5-point Likert scale.

Regarding the years of experience in interventional radiology (IR), the mean scale for the less than five-year group was 118.4, while that for the group with more than 15 years was 145.17 (p = 0.030). The mean scale of the five- to 15-year-old group was 121.75, versus that of more than 15 years, which was 145.17 (p = 0.028). Thus, significant differences arose between 15 years and five to 15 years versus >15 years groups; later groups were more likely to comply. There was also a statistical difference between the groups formed according to the ratio of oncological interventions (<25% vs. 25%-50%) in the daily workload (p = 0.010).

Increased experience in IR and more relay on oncological interventions appear to augment compliance with the IASIOS criteria. We believe that interventional radiologists who have distinct territorial praxis could benefit from such a framework with improved self-awareness.