The quality management of the radiation therapy

Regarding the start-up of radiotherapy equipment, this paper explains the quality management in radiotherapy from a slightly broader perspective. It describes the following items while referring to the experiences at the Hiroshima University Hospital: (1) risk management in radiotherapy in face of the medical accidents and countermeasures in the past, (2) management issues surrounding the introduction of a radiotherapy system, and (3) establishment of an organizational system that guarantees the quality of radiotherapy. The activities of the radiotherapy department QA committee are considered one of the systems for managing the risks of radiotherapy in the normal medical services and business continuity plan (BCP) in emergency. The quality management in radiotherapy must consider many things, such as manpower planning, profitability, medical safety, and quality assurance. The following three points are considered important: (1) establishment and implementation of a risk management system such as QA committee by the hand of top management, (2) introduction of medical equipment in accordance with the necessity of radiotherapy in cancer treatment and the roles in regional medical rehabilitation plan, and (3) cultivation of a radiotherapy team in accordance with the human resources composed of various job categories and the roles of the facilities to guarantee the quality of radiotherapy. (A.O.)