Quality indicators for the management of endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancer

Abstract

ObjectiveMeasuring quality indicators improves the quality of care. The aim of this review is to identify a set of quality indicators (QIs) that can be used to measure the standard of treatment for patients with endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancer. MethodsA systematic literature search was performed in the Pubmed and Google Scholar database. Articles related to the field of interest, which covered QIs for the management of endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancer, were included if they were written in English and available in full text. Articles related to prevention, screening, diagnosis, quality of life and patient satisfaction were excluded. ResultsA total of 57 suitable articles was found: 13 for endometrial cancer, 17 for cervical cancer and 27 for ovarian cancer. An overview of the selected QIs was made and classified by type of indicator. Relevant QIs related to the structural organisation of health care are: referral to high volume specialists in high volume hospitals, treatment by specialized gynecological oncologists and discussion of treatment plan by a multidisciplinary team according to current guidelines. Important process measures are: a patient report of high quality, an adequate pretreatment staging and an adherence to treatment guidelines. The ultimate goal is to reduce treatment related morbidity and increase the survival rate, which can be measured as outcome indicators. ConclusionThe proposed set of QIs should be validated and can be implemented into quality assurance programmes to improve the quality of care and the outcome of patients with a gynecological cancer.