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Title: Determinants of Patient Satisfaction During Receipt of Radiation Therapy

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the correlations and relative contributions of components of a radiation oncology-specific patient satisfaction survey to their overall satisfaction scores. Methods and Materials: From September 2006 through August 2012, we prospectively collected data from 8069 patients receiving radiation treatments with a 26-question survey. Each question was rated on a 10-point Likert scale. We analyzed the correlation between scores for each question and the overall satisfaction question. We also dichotomized the scores to reflect satisfaction versus dissatisfaction and used logistic regression to assess the relationship between items in 4 domains (the patient–provider relationship, access and environmental issues, wait times, and educational information) and overall satisfaction. Results: Scores on all questions correlated with overall patient satisfaction scores (P<.0001). Satisfaction with patient–provider relationships had the greatest influence on overall satisfaction (R{sup 2}=0.4219), followed by wait times (R{sup 2}=0.4000), access/environment (R{sup 2}=0.3837), and patient education (R{sup 2}=0.3700). The specific variables with the greatest effect on patient satisfaction were the care provided by radiation therapists (odds ratio 1.91) and pain management (odds ratio 1.29). Conclusions: We found that patients' judgment of provider relationships in an outpatient radiation oncology setting were the greatest contributors to their overall satisfaction ratings. Other measures typically associated withmore » patient satisfaction (phone access, scheduling, and ease of the check-in process) correlated less strongly with overall satisfaction. These findings may be useful for other practices preparing to assess patient ratings of quality of care.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22267866
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Resource Relation:
Journal Name: International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics; Journal Volume: 87; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE; ATTITUDES; BEHAVIOR; PATIENTS; QUALITY ASSURANCE; RADIOTHERAPY

Citation Formats

Famiglietti, Robin M., E-mail: rfamigli@mdanderson.org, Neal, Emily C., Edwards, Timothy J., Allen, Pamela K., and Buchholz, Thomas A. Determinants of Patient Satisfaction During Receipt of Radiation Therapy. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. doi:10.1016/J.IJROBP.2013.05.020.
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Famiglietti, Robin M., E-mail: rfamigli@mdanderson.org, Neal, Emily C., Edwards, Timothy J., Allen, Pamela K., & Buchholz, Thomas A. Determinants of Patient Satisfaction During Receipt of Radiation Therapy. United States. doi:10.1016/J.IJROBP.2013.05.020.
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Famiglietti, Robin M., E-mail: rfamigli@mdanderson.org, Neal, Emily C., Edwards, Timothy J., Allen, Pamela K., and Buchholz, Thomas A. Sun . "Determinants of Patient Satisfaction During Receipt of Radiation Therapy". United States. doi:10.1016/J.IJROBP.2013.05.020.
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@article{osti_22267866,
title = {Determinants of Patient Satisfaction During Receipt of Radiation Therapy},
author = {Famiglietti, Robin M., E-mail: rfamigli@mdanderson.org and Neal, Emily C. and Edwards, Timothy J. and Allen, Pamela K. and Buchholz, Thomas A.},
abstractNote = {Purpose: To evaluate the correlations and relative contributions of components of a radiation oncology-specific patient satisfaction survey to their overall satisfaction scores. Methods and Materials: From September 2006 through August 2012, we prospectively collected data from 8069 patients receiving radiation treatments with a 26-question survey. Each question was rated on a 10-point Likert scale. We analyzed the correlation between scores for each question and the overall satisfaction question. We also dichotomized the scores to reflect satisfaction versus dissatisfaction and used logistic regression to assess the relationship between items in 4 domains (the patient–provider relationship, access and environmental issues, wait times, and educational information) and overall satisfaction. Results: Scores on all questions correlated with overall patient satisfaction scores (P<.0001). Satisfaction with patient–provider relationships had the greatest influence on overall satisfaction (R{sup 2}=0.4219), followed by wait times (R{sup 2}=0.4000), access/environment (R{sup 2}=0.3837), and patient education (R{sup 2}=0.3700). The specific variables with the greatest effect on patient satisfaction were the care provided by radiation therapists (odds ratio 1.91) and pain management (odds ratio 1.29). Conclusions: We found that patients' judgment of provider relationships in an outpatient radiation oncology setting were the greatest contributors to their overall satisfaction ratings. Other measures typically associated with patient satisfaction (phone access, scheduling, and ease of the check-in process) correlated less strongly with overall satisfaction. These findings may be useful for other practices preparing to assess patient ratings of quality of care.},
doi = {10.1016/J.IJROBP.2013.05.020},
journal = {International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics},
number = 1,
volume = 87,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}
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Journal Article:
DOI:  10.1016/J.IJROBP.2013.05.020
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  • ; ; ; ... - International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics
    Purpose: Late toxicities and cosmetic analyses of patients treated with accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) on RTOG 0319 are presented. Methods and Materials: Patients with stages I to II breast cancer ≤3 cm, negative margins, and ≤3 positive nodes were eligible. Patients received three-dimensional conformal external beam radiation therapy (3D-CRT; 38.5 Gy in 10 fractions twice daily over 5 days). Toxicity and cosmesis were assessed by the patient (P), the radiation oncologist (RO), and the surgical oncologist (SO) at 3, 6, and 12 months from the completion of treatment and then annually. National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adversemore » Events, version 3.0, was used to grade toxicity. Results: Fifty-two patients were evaluable. Median follow-up was 5.3 years (range, 1.7-6.4 years). Eighty-two percent of patients rated their cosmesis as good/excellent at 1 year, with rates of 64% at 3 years. At 3 years, 31 patients were satisfied with the treatment, 5 were not satisfied but would choose 3D-CRT again, and none would choose standard radiation therapy. The worst adverse event (AE) per patient reported as definitely, probably, or possibly related to radiation therapy was 36.5% grade 1, 50% grade 2, and 5.8% grade 3 events. Grade 3 AEs were all skin or musculoskeletal-related. Treatment-related factors were evaluated to potentially establish an association with observed toxicity. Surgical bed volume, target volume, the number of beams used, and the use of bolus were not associated with late cosmesis. Conclusions: Most patients enrolled in RTOG 0319 were satisfied with their treatment, and all would choose to have the 3D-CRT APBI again.« less

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  • ; ; ; ... - Medical Physics
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  • ; ; ; ... - Medical Physics
    Purpose: To evaluate the role of 2D kilovoltage (kV) imaging to complement cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging in a shift threshold based image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) strategy for conventional lung radiotherapy. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted by analyzing IGRT couch shift trends for 15 patients that received lung radiation therapy to evaluate the benefit of performing orthogonal kV imaging prior to CBCT imaging. Herein, a shift threshold based IGRT protocol was applied, which would mandate additional CBCT verification if the applied patient shifts exceeded 3 mm to avoid intraobserver variability in CBCT registration and to confirm table shifts.more » For each patient, two IGRT strategies: kV + CBCT and CBCT alone, were compared and the recorded patient shifts were categorized into whether additional CBCT acquisition would have been mandated or not. The effectiveness of either strategy was gauged by the likelihood of needing additional CBCT imaging for accurate patient set-up. Results: The use of CBCT alone was 6 times more likely to require an additional CBCT than KV+CBCT, for a 3 mm shift threshold (88% vs 14%). The likelihood of additional CBCT verification generally increased with lower shift thresholds, and was significantly lower when kV+CBCT was used (7% with 5 mm shift threshold, 36% with 2 mm threshold), than with CBCT alone (61% with 5 mm shift threshold, 97% with 2 mm threshold). With CBCT alone, treatment time increased by 2.2 min and dose increased by 1.9 cGy per fraction on average due to additional CBCT with a 3mm shift threshold. Conclusion: The benefit of kV imaging to screen for gross misalignments led to more accurate CBCT based patient localization compared with using CBCT alone. The subsequently reduced need for additional CBCT verification will minimize treatment time and result in less overall patient imaging dose.« less

  • ; ; ; ... - International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics
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