3675 - Standardizing Data-to-Dialogue in Outpatient Radiotherapy: Automated Laboratory Cueing, Role-Based Workflow Coordination, and Digital Patient Education to Improve Patient Safety
Presenter(s)
H. F. Yang1,2, and Y. C. Lee3,4; 1Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, 2Department of Nusring, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, 3Department of Radiation Oncology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, 4School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
Purpose/Objective(s): Outpatient radiotherapy safety relies on timely recognition of actionable laboratory abnormalities and reliable cross-role communication from simulation to treatment start. We implemented a standardized workflow that converts laboratory and timeline signals into visible prompts and structured actions, and evaluated its association with safety-signal recognition, patient/staff experience, and distress.
Materials/Methods: Pre–post quality improvement evaluation in an outpatient radiotherapy setting (N=100). The intervention combined: (1) automated cueing of abnormal blood-test results within a defined time window at routine check-in; (2) a color-coded timeline tracker to communicate urgency/ownership from simulation to pre-start milestones; and (3) digital patient education and point-of-care messaging to prompt reporting of completed blood tests. Outcomes included process measures (blood-draw indicator recognition; education-message visibility), patient-reported experience (education usefulness; professional-care satisfaction; learning experience), staff satisfaction, and psychological distress (BSRS-5). Paper reduction and an institutional energy-efficiency metric were tracked as resource/sustainability indicators. Two-sided tests were used (a=0.05).
Results: After implementation, blood-draw indicator recognition reached 100% and education-message visibility increased to 88% (p<0.001). Patient-reported education usefulness improved (p=0.009), as did professional-care satisfaction (p=0.011) and learning experience (p=0.026). Distress decreased (BSRS-5: 3.2±2.3?1.6±1.4). Global satisfaction increased for patients (95.6?99.6) and staff (90.2?98.8). Paper use decreased by 10% and the institutional energy-efficiency metric improved by 5%.
Conclusion: A standardized data-to-dialogue workflow—automated lab cueing plus role-based coordination and digital education—was associated with improved safety-signal recognition, better patient/staff experience, and lower distress during radiotherapy, while reducing paper-based processes. Further evaluation should examine downstream safety endpoints (near-miss events, unplanned delays) and multi-site generalizability.