ReCAP: Improving the Quality of Radiation Treatment for Patients in Ontario: Increasing Peer Review Activities on a Jurisdictional Level Using a Change Management Approach [FOCUS ON QUALITY]

QUESTION ASKED: What is the impact of the Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) strategy (designed with guidance from a change management framework) to accelerate the use of peer-review processes in radiation oncology (ie, review of a radiation oncologist’s proposed treatment plan by a second radiation oncologist with or without additional multidisciplinary input) across all of its 14 cancer treatment centers? SUMMARY ANSWER: By following a number of key change management principles for organizational transformation, the proportion of radical-intent radiation therapy courses peer reviewed province-wide increased from 43.5% (April 2013) to 68.0% (March 2015), with some centers reaching over 95%. METHODS: The initiative design was guided by the Kotter eight-step process for organizational transformation, including the creation of a multidisciplinary leadership team, site visits to individual centers, the development of education and implementation processes (done in collaboration with each center), and the creation of new performance metrics for central reporting. Monitoring of these metrics enabled the leadership team to track the percentage of radiation therapy courses peer reviewed and the timing of peer review (before 25% treatment visits complete, after 25% treatment visits complete). Performance targets for the quality measures were arrived at by consensus that included engagement of all center radiation treatment program leaders. BIAS, CONFOUNDING FACTOR(S), DRAWBACKS: Peer...
Source: Journal of Oncology Practice - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Patient safety, Quality of care, Quality of Care, Radiation Oncology FOCUS ON QUALITY Source Type: research