JOURNAL DESCRIPTION
The Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety journal ISSN 1024-6177 was founded in January 1956 (before December 30, 1993 it was entitled Medical Radiology, ISSN 0025-8334). In 2018, the journal received Online ISSN: 2618-9615 and was registered as an electronic online publication in Roskomnadzor on March 29, 2018. It publishes original research articles which cover questions of radiobiology, radiation medicine, radiation safety, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine and scientific reviews. In general the journal has more than 30 headings and it is of interest for specialists working in thefields of medicine¸ radiation biology, epidemiology, medical physics and technology. Since July 01, 2008 the journal has been published by State Research Center - Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center of Federal Medical Biological Agency. The founder from 1956 to the present time is the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, and from 2008 to the present time is the Federal Medical Biological Agency.
Members of the editorial board are scientists specializing in the field of radiation biology and medicine, radiation protection, radiation epidemiology, radiation oncology, radiation diagnostics and therapy, nuclear medicine and medical physics. The editorial board consists of academicians (members of the Russian Academy of Science (RAS)), the full member of Academy of Medical Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, corresponding members of the RAS, Doctors of Medicine, professor, candidates and doctors of biological, physical mathematics and engineering sciences. The editorial board is constantly replenished by experts who work in the CIS and foreign countries.
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The two-year impact factor of RISC, according to data for 2017, was 0.439, taking into account citation from all sources - 0.570, and the five-year impact factor of RISC - 0.352.
Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2024. Vol. 69. № 3
DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2024-69-3-68-71
M.V. Chernykh, T.A. Krylova
Clinical Audits Methodology of the Radiotherapy Departments
in Russian Federation Based on IAEA Audits Principles
N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology, Moscow, Russia
Contact person: T.A. Krylova, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To describe the essence, tasks and algorithm of comprehensive audit in radiotherapy departments of medical institutions in Rus
sian Federation. The methodology of audits conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and adapted for its further application, was used as a model. The global goal of the audit project is to standardize and harmonize procedures to ensure safety and quality control of treatment of cancer patients in different institutions, to enable comparison of radiation therapy results among participating institutions, to conduct interclinical studies and, possibly, to create a unified data register.
Material and methods: One of the main aspects of clinical audits is the harmonization of standards between different departments. Clinical audits in radiotherapy can be an important tool for interclinical quality assurance (QA) program, effectiveness and safety of radiotherapy, and treatment protocols synchronization. Audits allow an in-depth analysis of the procedures and processes governing patient care in a particular clinic. Such clinical audits cover the whole chain of patients care, the organization of structural units, the infrastructure, clinical, physics and technical aspects underlying the radiotherapy department. This audit is a peer review process conducted by an audit team consisting of a radiation oncologist (RO), medical physicist (MP) and radiation technologist (RTT) and is known as QUATRO and stands for Quality Assurance Team in Radiation Oncology).
Possible audit tools include:
1. Saff interviewing.
2. Examination of the structure of the entire department.
3. Review and evaluation of procedures and all relevant documentation, including analysis of patient charts.
4. Conducting independent measurements of absorbed doses and other methods of local procedures monitoring, where relevant and appropriate.
5. Observation of the practical implementation of operating procedures.
Results: It was decided to use the IAEA QUATRO methodology for clinical audits and to adapt it to the specifics of radiotherapy in Russian Federation. One of the advantages of such a clinical audit is that the formalism and algorithm of this approach will be identically applied in all departments, which will allow comparing and analyzing the results. In order to obtain structured information, a detailed research protocol, which is a questionnaire, has been developed. The questions in the questionnaire allow to assess key aspects of the radiotherapy process that affect clinical outcomes and treatment efficiency.
Keywords: radiation therapy, audit, quality assurance, protocol, quality standards
For citation: Chernykh MV, Krylova TA. Clinical Audits Methodology of the Radiotherapy Departments in Russian Federation Based on IAEA Audits Principles. Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2024;69(3):68–71. (In Russian). DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2024-69-3-68-71
References
1. Всесторонние аудиты практики лучевой терапии: средство для повышения качества. Вена, Международное агентство по атомной энергии, 2008. [Comprehensive Audits of Radiotherapy Practice: a Tool for Improving Quality. Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency Publ., 2008 (In Russ.)].
2. Vaandering Aude, Lievens Yolande, Scalliet Pierre. Feasibility and Impact of National Peer Reviewed Clinical Audits in Radiotherapy Departments. Radiotherapy and Oncology. 2020;144: 218–223.
3. On-Site Visits to Radiotherapy Centres: Medical Physics Procedures. IAEA-TECDOC-1543. 2007; March.
PDF (RUS) Full-text article (in Russian)
Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Financing. The study had no sponsorship.
Contribution. Article was prepared with equal participation of the authors.
Article received: 20.01.2024. Accepted for publication: 27.02.2024.