Efficiency and safety increases after the implementation of a multi-institutional automated plan check tool at our institution

Area of Science:

• Medical physics
• Radiation oncology
• Health informatics

Background:

• Automated tools are increasingly used in healthcare to improve efficiency and accuracy.
• Collaborative development allows for versatile and adaptable solutions.
• Plan checking is a critical step in radiation oncology to ensure patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the Plan Checking Tool (PCT) on the efficiency and effectiveness of initial chart checks.
• To assess the benefits of a shared, automated framework in a clinical setting.

Main Methods:

• A comparative analysis of initial chart checks was conducted before and after PCT implementation.
• Data on errors and time taken for checks were collected over two distinct periods.
• Human plan checkers recorded all detected issues and time spent on each plan.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant decrease in recorded issues was observed after PCT implementation (P < 0.001).
• The number of errors explicitly identified by PCT and overall errors decreased substantially.
• The mean and median time for plan checks were reduced by 20%.

Conclusions:

• The automated, configurable Plan Checking Tool significantly enhances efficiency and effectiveness in medical plan checks.
• Early error detection facilitated by PCT reduces the likelihood of errors reaching patients.
• Collaborative development and code sharing mitigate the initial investment for such tools.