| Survey of radiation oncology centres in Australia: report of the Radiation Oncology Treatment Quality Program. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 19695046 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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One of the first steps towards the development of a comprehensive quality program for radiation oncology in Australia has been a survey of practice. This paper reports on the results of the survey that should inform the development of standards for radiation oncology in Australia. A questionnaire of 108 questions spanning aspects of treatment services, equipment, staff, infrastructure and available quality systems was mailed to all facilities providing radiation treatment services in Australia (n = 45). Information of 42 sites was received by June 2006 providing data on 113 operational linear accelerators of which approximately 2/3 are equipped with multi-leaf collimators. More than 75% of facilities were participating in a formal quality assurance (QA) system, with 63% following a nationally or internationally recognised system. However, there was considerable variation in the availability of policies and procedures specific to quality aspects, and the review of these. Policies for monitoring patient waiting times for treatment were documented at just 71% of all facilities. Although 85% of all centres do, in fact, monitor machine throughput, the number and types of efficiency measures varied markedly, thereby limiting the comparative use of these results. Centres identified workload as the single most common factor responsible for limiting staff involvement in both QA processes and clinical trial participation. The data collected in this 'snapshot' survey provide a unique and comprehensive baseline for future comparisons and evaluation of changes. |
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Authors:
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M Kolybaba; T Kron; J Harris; P O'Brien; L Kenny |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology Volume: 53 ISSN: 1754-9485 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2009 Aug |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2009-08-21 Completed Date: 2009-11-05 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 101469340 Medline TA: J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol Country: Australia |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 382-95 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Australia Data Collection* Guideline Adherence / utilization* Practice Guidelines as Topic* Quality Assurance, Health Care / standards*, statistics & numerical data* Radiation Oncology / standards*, statistics & numerical data* |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2009 Aug;53(4):337-8
[PMID:
19695038
]
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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