(Saturday, 4/7/2018)
Room: Foyer
Purpose: We report on some of the results of a survey of the physics plan review process. Two goals of the survey were to: identify which elements of a treatment plan are being checked by a physicist and; to determine the variation in practice for treatment plan reviews.
Methods: The Chart Checking Practices Group, commissioned by Cancer Care Ontario, conducted the survey at the beginning of 2015. The medical physics departments at each Ontario cancer centre completed the survey in a group setting, submitting a single response from that centre. Questions addressing which elements of a patient's plan are being checked by the physicists asked the groups to indicate if: “All�, “Most�, “Some�, or “None� of the physicists in the group performed that particular check.
Results: Only 2 out of 42 items, bolus and heterogeneity, were reported as checked by “All� physicists at all centres. 11 items were reported as checked by “All� or “Most� of the physicists. The only item that more than half of the centres reported “None� of their physicists check was DVH bin resolution. 37 of the 42 items were reported as checked by “All� or “Most� of the physicists at more than half of the centres. In general, the least checked items related to setup and imaging.
Conclusion: There is a sizable degree of variability in plan review both between centres and between individual physicists in the same centre. The use of a standardized checklist does not reduce this variability, but may improve the physicists’ awareness of the existing variability.
Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: This work was funded by Cancer Care Ontario
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