Radiation Oncology Department Quality Performance Review Survey

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9. What process improvement ideas has your department worked on in the past 12 months?
 
1. paperless-electronic charting-less chance error, less redundancy digital filmless-no retakes due to quality new pet/ct simulator better quality simulations chart rounds review with entire staff 3D conformal breast plans TLD on opposite breast to measure dose to opps side  
2. registration process mammosite program dietary consults for head and neck patients 
3. 3D vs. IMRT side effects Billing Patient Identification 
4. Patient Wait Times Physician summary report sent to ref. physician  
5. PT ID PORT FILM/BEAM VIEW review by physicina physicina notification when to draw TV for tx planning 
6. Determinig how therapists can better see and hear patients in CT simulator room 
7. New facility planning with an emphasis on privacy. New accelerator aquisition. Moving toward an electronic record. Planning a PACs system.  
8. Launched LEAN INSTITUTE process improvement divion within the sdepartment. Examined the entire patient flow in the PROTON CENTER; identified 14 areas for PI; now 2 addtional LEAN events underway: treatment planning , and billing 
9. Using the MD quality check list in IMPAC to assure MD dictates when certain CPTs charged Improving flow of pateints/wait times Use of differnt drugs for conscious sedation to see if less cardiac events occur  
10. Study of new techniques (segmented & IMRT breast) Internal Outcome study Nursing documentation with focus on chemo documentation in Rad Onc chart, meds/allergies, weekly assessments  
11. Improving patient orders. Documentation for work ordered. Front desk phone triage. Exam room distribution. Radiosurgery process for patients. Signatures on radiation specific consent forms. 
12. Conversion to IMPAC Scheduling and Charge capture 
13. Using bar code scanning on all accessory pieces of treatment equipment to ensure the bolus or compensator is used as prescribed. Indexing the treatment couch position on all patient set ups. 
14. Safety Issues, Outcomes on Prostate and Lung Patients treated with IMRT vs conformal. 
15. Ethyol administration - side effects, efficacy of tx Integration of Med Onc with Rad Onc/implementation of IMPAC Implementation of pre-treatment verification process per JCAHO PC 13.20 and implementation of two identifiers PC 5.10 Chart Audits 
16. We have worked on IMRT patients, the time elapsed between consult and start date, to get this cut down. We achieved ACR accreditation. We established a claims denial review process to increase revenue. We set departmental goals that everyone participated in, based on the five pillars of excellence as established by Quint Studer. We passed the JCAHO accreditation survey. We have worked on inmproving employee satisfaction by communication, and development of action plans based on employee comments. 
17. Regular chart rounds Dosimetry checks within 24 hours of calculations 
18. Continuous monitoring of clinical pathways and education. We are a major academic department; improvement and QA are vital in our overall academic missions of patient care, education and clinical research. 
19. Continuous monitoring of clinical pathways and education. We are a major academic department; improvement and QA are vital in our overall academic missions of patient care, education and clinical research. 
20. Several ways. 1.Built a new program taking in to account psat problems. 2.ACR accredidation 3.Severalimprovements in cacer registry 4.Record and verify system. 5.From poor prostate seed implant in to a comprehensive training. 6.IMRT And more specialised training to all technical people. 
21. Patient identifiers improving documentation. 
22. Consistent Documentation Chart Audits for completeness of documentation Standardisztion of treatment protocols for various treatment sites (used to be physician dependent) 
23. Quite a few..... IMRT related Portal Imaging related Treatment related Patient positioning related 
24. Six Sigma/CAP project working with RO staff, physician group and billing department to develop a system for auditing billing/documentation compliance. 
25. Decrease in treatment administrations. Increase efficiency of workflow. 
26. Less patient waiting. 
27. /wait times, patient satisfaction improvements 
28. Safety as related to proper information input by the dosimetrist, checked by physics, then checked by RTT before tx. 
29. Total New facility 
30. Increasing one-on-one time nurses spend with patients undergoing head and neck treatment to determine if this affects patietns ability to go through course without a break. 
31. Charge process and clinical documentation accuracy Patient satisfaction team teaching patient education handwashing retrospective study of grade three or greater side effects for prostate