Development and implementation of communities of practice at Cancer Care Ontario (CCO).

Abstract

58 Background: A “Community of Practice” (CoP) has been defined as a group of people who share a passion for something they do and learn to improve as they translate knowledge and interact together. Methods: The primary goal of the Radiation Treatment Program (RTP) at CCO is to improve the quality of care delivered to Ontario patients receiving radiation treatment. We identified variations in practice in the 14 Regional Cancer Centers (RCC) in Ontario and facilitated the development of 3 CoPs to share best practices and standardize care where appropriate. Through this initiative, two multidisciplinary [Radiation Oncologists, Physicists and Radiation Therapists (MRT(T)s)] CoPs have been established in Head and Neck (H&N) and Gynecological (GYN) Cancers and one discipline-specific CoP has been started in Radiation Treatment External Beam Delivery involving MRT(T)s alone . During initial meetings of each CoP key variations in practice affecting quality of care were identified. Results: Each CoP has developed recommendation documents for improving care: H&N Cancer – Nomenclature for anatomic structures in treatment volumes and Evaluation of Intensity Modulated treatment Plans; GYN Cancer – Imaging strategies for Intracavitary Brachytherapy of Cervical Cancer; Treatment Delivery – Protocol Development Toolkit and Image Guided Radiation Therapy Education Checklist. These recommendation documents are currently being piloted in each RCC with a view to standardizing care across the province. Conclusions: These CoP initiatives have enabled the development of recommendation reports by front-line staff to ensure evidence-based, high-quality radiation treatment to improve the safety and quality of care for all cancer patients across a jurisdiction of 13M people.