Multidisciplinary Clinical Quality Indicators for Head and Neck Cancer: A Modified Delphi Study in Australia.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Services Research
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Monitoring cancer care is crucial for improving patient outcomes, especially in resource-limited environments.
• Head and neck cancer (HNC) care quality requires standardized benchmarking and monitoring.
• Developing quality indicators (QIs) is essential for assessing and improving HNC care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a priority set of multidisciplinary quality indicators (QIs).
• To establish a benchmark for monitoring the quality of head and neck cancer (HNC) care in Australia.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature review identified 317 unique QIs.
• A modified Delphi consensus process involving health professionals and patients with lived experience was conducted over three rounds.
• Consensus on QIs was defined by a mean importance score of ≥6 (out of 7) and at least 75% of participants rating them as 6 or 7.

Main Results:

• The systematic review identified 317 unique QIs, with 81 selected for Delphi Round 2.
• In Round 2, 48 QIs reached consensus among 66 health professionals and 12 patients.
• In Round 3, 24 QIs achieved consensus among 42 health professionals and 10 patients, with most related to treatment commencement and surgical margin documentation.

Conclusions:

• A priority set of 24 clinically relevant QIs for head and neck cancer (HNC) has been developed.
• These QIs will be evaluated in a clinical quality registry.
• The registry aims to benchmark optimal HNC management and patient outcomes.