PERCEIVED QUALITY MEASURES IN RADIATION ONCOLOGY: ASSESSMENT TOOL DEVELOPMENT

摘要

The main focus of most patient satisfaction surveys are typically concentrated on the interpersonal skills of the staff with little to no correlation to the actual quality of treatment being administered. A negative experience for the patient, even when a technically accurate procedure has been performed can have very negative consequences for the facility. These consequences can range from the patient not showing up for necessary follow up care to legal action taken by the patient. Conversely, just because a patient is satisfied with their care does not necessarily mean that they received a quality treatment.rnRadiation oncology is a very specialized field of medicine that utilizes a highly technical implementation of various complex processes, which include the use of very sophisticated radiation producing machines to treat regionally localized cancers. Using process flow mapping of a typical radiation oncology department, a questionnaire was developed to assess a patients' view on performance and quality.rnA patients' treatment should be a balance of technical accuracy and efficiency with compassionate and well-delivered healthcare that makes the patient feel cared for and ultimately treated in the best manner possible. The ultimate goal is to have a patient feel as if they have received the best care possible while actually delivering the best care possible in the most accurate and efficient manner. This research may provide a mechanism to evaluate the how a patient perceives quality and ultimately correlate that information back to the actual accuracy and efficiency they were treated with during therapy.