Improving patient experience and workflow by reducing treatment
delays caused by suboptimal bladder preparation for Pelvic
Radiotherapy
Thilini Warnakulasooriya
Ballarat Austin Radiation Oncology Centre
• Patient education
• Time & Volume recorded (Bladder Prep)
• Repeat bladder prep at BAROC
• Mini-CT scan before treatment
• Bladder prep completed at home
• Mini-CT scan or U/S scan
-4 WEEKS
DAY 1
DAY 20 DAILY RT
TREATMENT RT
PLANNING
AIM:
To assess if allocation of an additional ultra-sound scan appointment prior to schedule treatment appointment will improve bladder preparation.BAROC patient treatment timeline
DAY 2
Study Design
Quantitative data collected: ARIA (BAROC Patient Information Management System) & mini-CT scans
Check in time, Bladder volume at U/S appointment, How much extra water given, treatment completion time, if patient prep was completed
Qualitative: Patient / staff questionnaires
Data presented as median, IQR and percentages Data analysed via un-paired t-test
Exclusion Criteria:
• Patient didn’t arrive for U/S appointment.
• Delayed appointments caused by machine breakdowns.
• Taken off the bed due to bowel issues.
Patient Demographics for identified patients (n=10):
Median age = 73 years old
Median bladder volume = 298ml (IQR:276ml-322ml)
Did we reduce the time spent at BAROC?
71% of patients were treated on time or earlier than the
scheduled appointment time
Only 53% of bladder prep completed for daily treatment.
Patient that completed bladder prep spent less time at BAROC
(p=<0.0001)
P -value =0.5577
1 2 3 4 55 6 7 8 99 10