Deriving Performance Measures of Workflow in Radiation Therapy from Real-Time Data

Radiation treatment planning is a complex process with multiple, dependent steps involving an interdisciplinary patient care team. We have previously implemented an interactive, web-based dashboard, which requires a standardised radiation treatment planning workflow and provides real-time monitoring and visualization of the workflow. We present this framework and the results of performance measures characterising the standardised workflow in an effort to optimize clinical efficiency and patient safety. Quantitative representations of longitudinal progression of carepath activities were computed from staff-reported timestamps queried from the EMR. Performance measures evaluated included staff compliance in completing assigned tasks, timeliness in task completion, and the time to complete different tasks. The framework developed allows for informed, data-driven decisions regarding clinical workflow management and the impact of changes on existing workflow as we seek to optimize clinical efficiency and safety, and incorporate new interventions into clinical practice.