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Clinical and Translational Oncology
Published in: Clinical and Translational Oncology 4/2019

01-04-2019 | Brief Research Article

Quality indicators in radiation oncology: proposal of the Spanish Society of Radiation Oncology (SEOR) for a continuous improvement of the quality of care in oncology

Authors: J. López Torrecilla, S. Marín i Borràs, A. Ruiz-Alonso, J. Jaen Olasolo, M. L. Vázquez de la Torre, E. Bóveda Carro, A. Rodríguez, E. Ignacio García, F. Caballero Martínez, F. J. Campos Lucas, P. C. Lara Jiménez, J. Contreras Martínez, C. Ferrer Albiach

Published in: Clinical and Translational Oncology | Issue 4/2019

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Abstract

Purpose

Current cancer treatment options include surgical intervention, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. The quality of the provision of each of them and their effective coordination determines the results in terms of benefit/risk. Regarding the radiation oncology treatments, there are not stabilised quality indicators to be used to perform control and continuous improvement processes for healthcare services. Therefore, the Spanish Society of Radiation Oncology has undertaken a comprehensive project to establish quality indicators for use with the information systems available in most Spanish healthcare services.

Methods

A two-round Delphi study examines consensus of several possible quality indicators (n = 28) in daily practice. These indicators were defined after a bibliographic search and the assessment by radiation oncology specialists (n = 8). They included aspects regarding treatment equipment, patient preparation, treatment, and follow-up processes and were divided in structure, process, and outcome indicators.

Results

After the evaluation of the defined quality indicators (n = 28) by an expert panel (38 radiation oncologist), 26 indicators achieved consensus in terms of agreement with the statement. Two quality indicators did not achieve consensus.

Conclusions

There is a high degree of consensus in Spanish Radiation Oncology specialists on which indicators in routine clinical practice can best measure quality. These indicators can be used to classify services based on several parameters (patients, equipments, complexity of the techniques used, and scientific research). Furthermore, these indicators allow assess our current situation and set improvements’ objectives.
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Metadata
Title
Quality indicators in radiation oncology: proposal of the Spanish Society of Radiation Oncology (SEOR) for a continuous improvement of the quality of care in oncology
Authors
J. López Torrecilla
S. Marín i Borràs
A. Ruiz-Alonso
J. Jaen Olasolo
M. L. Vázquez de la Torre
E. Bóveda Carro
A. Rodríguez
E. Ignacio García
F. Caballero Martínez
F. J. Campos Lucas
P. C. Lara Jiménez
J. Contreras Martínez
C. Ferrer Albiach
Publication date
01-04-2019
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Clinical and Translational Oncology / Issue 4/2019
Print ISSN: 1699-048X
Electronic ISSN: 1699-3055
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-018-1943-z

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