RO-ILS: Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System data trends 2014-2015.

59 Background: Incident learning is one of the most effective ways to improve quality care. To facilitate patient safety improvement at a national level, American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) launched RO-ILS: Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System in June 2014. RO-ILS mission is to facilitate safer and higher quality care through a shared learning environment that is secure and non-punitive.

METHODS: To ensure the security and protection of data, ASTRO contracted with Clarity PSO, a federally-certified patient safety organization that operates under the auspices of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. Radiation oncology practices sign a no-fee contract with Clarity PSO to participate in RO-ILS and then enter safety data into a customized web-based portal. Submitted data are analyzed and interpreted by the Radiation Oncology Healthcare Advisory Council (RO-HAC), a multi-professional team. Practices receive aggregate quarterly reports and institutional reports when substantial data are submitted.

RESULTS: During the first year, 61 US practices (123) facilities signed contracts. 42 practices entered 1259 events and 619 of these events (49%) were submitted to the national database. Types of events included: 242 (39%) incidents that reached the patient with or without harm; 206 (33%) near-misses; and 171 (28%) unsafe conditions. RO-HAC identified risk-prone processes including ineffective communication, compressed timelines to start treatment, changes to treatment during the course of therapy and junior practitioners' errors not remedied by experienced staff.

CONCLUSIONS: Data suggests that quality assurance processes were effective in catching errors; however, continued work needs to address the origin of these errors and suggest robust solutions. To facilitate improved communication, effective protocols and software enhancements are recommended to alert staff to changes in patients' management. Policies and procedures on patient hand-offs, emergency cases and oversight of junior staff will help error mitigation. While in its infancy, RO-ILS provides useful data and will serve to improve the quality and safety of radiotherapy.