Patient reported experience in a radiation oncology department

Understanding patient experience is essential to providing high quality, person-centered care. A real-time baseline cross-sectional study was completed to identify gaps in patient experience that can be targeted for quality improvement (QI). This study is part of PROSE (Person-centered Radiation Oncology Service Enhancement), a QI initiative developed to improve patient experience at a tertiary cancer centre Radiation Oncology (RO) Department. Data was collected using the Your Voice Matters (YVM) questionnaire. The YVM captures information on the patient’s last visit, and questions are organized based on dimensions of person-centered care. Recruitment occurred between May and August 2019 in the radiation department. Consecutive patients during the study period were approached to complete the YVM either in reference to their initial consultation or previous treatment appointment. Percent positive scores were calculated for quantitative data and a content analysis was completed for open-text data. Of 512 patients approached, a total of 400 patients participated across tumors groups. Overall, patients highly endorsed positive experiences with feeling respected by their healthcare provider. Contacting the clinic, emotional support and wait times were rated as the least positive components of experience across appointment types and tumors groups. The Lung tumour group demonstrated worse experiences across all domains during treatments compared to all other tumour groups. Gaps and differences in patient experience were demonstrated across appointment types and tumour groups. This study provides direction to effectively develop and implement QI work aimed at improving patient experience.