ACPSEM ROSG Oncology-PACS and OIS working group recommendations for quality assurance

Abstract

The Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM) Radiation Oncology Specialty Group (ROSG) formed a series of working groups in 2011 to develop position papers for guidance of radiation oncology medical physics practice within the Australasian setting. These position papers are intended to provide guidance for safe work practices and a suitable level of quality control without detailed work instructions. It is the responsibility of the medical physicist to ensure that locally available equipment and procedures are sufficiently sensitive to establish compliance to these position papers. The recommendations are endorsed by the ROSG, have been subject to independent expert reviews. For the Australian audience, these recommendations should be read in conjunction with the Tripartite Radiation Oncology Practice Standards [1, 2]. This publication presents the recommendations of the ACPSEM OPACS and OIS Working Group (OISWG) and has been developed in alignment with other international associations. However, these recommendations should be read in conjunction with relevant national, state or territory legislation and local requirements, which take precedence over the ACPSEM position papers. It is hoped that the users of this and other ACPSEM position papers will contribute to the development of future versions through the Radiation Oncology Specialty Group of the ACPSEM.

A Review of Oncology Clinical Information Systems- What Are the Critical Success Factors and Reasons for System Failure?

“…Other studies used quantitative methods. (15,20) qualitative methods, (19) and mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative). (14) The aims of these studies were creating a national radiation oncology registry, (18) determining the level of compliance of clinical activities with a radiotherapy information system, (14) identifying deficiencies in treatment plans and radiotherapy simulation, (16) developing a patient's electronic chart, (17) and creating a web-based radiotherapy system.…”

“…The results indicated that in addition to facilitating the reporting of outcomes, the system reduced the average time of documentation by physicians from 22 to 7 minutes per patient, and 92% of respondents were satisfied with the system. (22) Other research objectives were creating a filing system for radiotherapy, (21) developing a mock-up of a user interface to predict radiotherapy workflows, (2) determining the progress of information technology in the radiotherapy section, (15) providing guidance to achieve an appropriate level of quality control (19) and evaluation of experts' opinions about the use of DICOM-RT in radiotherapy. (20) In a research conducted by Mukai et al a filing system for radiotherapy department was created.…”

“…Since, it is crucial to identify errors and to provide an appropriate approach in a disaster recovery plan, testing failover between servers, testing treatment plan delivery during a network or a server failure, and taking backup and restoring data should receive more attention. (19) In relation to the application of DICOM-RT (A standard method for data transfer in radiotherapy workflows which describes six major areas, the structure of radiotherapy, radiation treatment plan, radiotherapy dose, radiotherapy image, treatment records, and summary of treatment records) and interoperable systems, the analysis of the experts' opinions showed that there was a lack of compatibility between equipment and information systems with radiotherapy workflows. In addition, there was limited knowledge about the use of DICOM-RT, and finally, it was recommended to use this standard to enhance interactions between information systems in the radiotherapy department.…”

“…(5,6) Moreover, clinical information systems can help to reduce adverse drug reactions and to increase dosing accuracy by providing information on how to make good use of medicines in cancer care. (7) Oncology information systems, (8)(9)(10)(11) oncology electronic medical records, (4,12,13) radiotherapy (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)2) and chemotherapy information systems (23,24) are among the systems that are used in hospitals for cancer data management.…”

“…This OIS will encompass the information exchange between radiation therapy departments and the overall healthcare enterprise. (19) Australia To provide guidance for safe work practices and a suitable level of quality control without detailed work instructions Qualitative Both the OIS and OPACS have become mission critical systems in any modern radiation oncology department. It is important as part of the commissioning process to ensure that business continuity planning has been performed.…”