Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist High Point Medical Center Hayworth Cancer Center was experiencing some long setups with prostate patients and full bladders. They wanted to shorten the amount of time patients had to maintain their full bladders during treatment to improve the patient experience.
Reduced Repeat CBCT's & Treatment Time for Prostate Patients
The Challenge
Goals
Solution
Using AlignRT and Postural Video, the staff developed a plan to change their process to reduce imaging rates and eliminate tattoos and marks.
AlignRT and Postural Video
Incorporated AlignRT into the Prostate patient workflow. Used tattoos and AlignRT for one month to set lateral position.
Tattoo and Mark-Free
Eliminated tattoos from workflow after positive feedback from therapists.
AlignRT for Initial Alignment
Using AlignRT for prostate/pelvic patients initial alignment reduced re-imaging rates.
Patient Education
Educated patients from CT through treatment on gowning requirements.
Results
1. Eliminated re-imaging in 66% of patients.
2. 80% Reduction in fractions requiring re-imaging.
3. 83% Less re-imaging over course of treatment.
4. 55% Less treatment time – 1-2 minutes less time per patient.
“Using SGRT for prostate setups has increased staff efficiency and patient satisfaction – we are so grateful to have this in our clinic.”
Ashley Towers RT(T), Radiation Therapy Supervisor
Future Plans
Atrium Wake Forest plans to create AlignRT protocols for all their therapists to keep current and on-boarding new staff members. They also plan on creating treatment site-specific workflows for therapists for competency.
They will continue to educate patients on SGRT through their website and be highlighted on www.saferradiationtherapy.com as a tattoo and mark-free treatment site.
