Implementing TG-275 with ChartCheck

By now, the recommendations published earlier this year in the TG-275 report are no longer a new topic. Clinics are taking action—implementing the various physics plan review suggestions missing from their checklists. If you aren’t familiar with the task group recommendations, make sure to visit our blog for a summary of the TG-275 report, which includes insightful Q&A with the task group chair, Eric Ford.

In short, the task group was charged with providing meaningful guidance for physics chart review, something that had been previously missing from the compendium of AAPM guidance. To do so, it surveyed active clinical physicists to evaluate current practices revolving around plan reviews. A failure modes and effects analysis was performed to quantify the risk that was associated with these elements. Checklists were created for initial, weekly, and final chart review items, including those with widespread use and a Risk Priority Number (RPN) greater than 100. In a sense, the large number of checks required for plan review is prioritized in these checklists.

In addition to providing specific guidance for clinicians, TG-275 called on vendors to develop automation tools to assist in chart review, given the scope and detail required for thorough quality plan checks. Implementation of key task group report recommendations can often be delayed due to a lack of commercially available products from vendors.

Enter ChartCheck, a treatment evaluation tool that automates a number of these recommendations, making implementing TG-275 easy and fast. ChartCheck monitors patient treatment data in real-time and automatically provides notifications for failing checks.

ChartCheck handles dose summation, treatment progression, imaging shifts, and approval status. Documentation, timeouts, and journal entries can be reviewed at-a-glance. In all, ChartCheck automates more than 35 TG-275 recommended weekly checks, saving precious clinical time and instilling confidence with thorough routine weekly physics checks.

Radformation is taking heed of the recommendations set forth by this task group, and is making continued efforts to improve efficiencies in treatment evaluation via automation. Bring TG-275 into your clinic for better physics plan review and automate the process with ChartCheck.

ChartCheck releases this fall. Join us for a webinar on September 23rd and discover how your department can make routine physics checks automated and proactive with Chartcheck.