Streamlining Nuclear Theranostic Clinic Workflow

Authors

Charisma DeSai, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterFollow
Anne Fisher, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterFollow

Abstract

Nuclear medicine clinic needs have drastically changed with the emergence of theranostics, exciting new agents in the fight against cancer. However, administering these agents is a resource-intensive task, increasing demand for physician consultation time with patients, clinic office space, and scanner time. We examined our institution’s nuclear medicine clinic workflow and interviewed the clinic’s front desk staff, technologists, nurses, managers, physicians, and patients to find sources of delays, dissatisfaction, and decreased efficiency. An Ishikawa diagram and decision matrix helped us determine the most impactful intervention with our available resources. For this cycle, we focused on the consent process. Theranostic patients are usually on a standard therapy regimen with 4 or 6 doses of the same radiopharmaceutical. In our clinic, patients and physicians had to sign a separate consent form for each cycle, a repetitive task that was not standard across institutions or required by our hospital policy. We created a new consent form that included the full treatment regimen. In addition, we developed new patient education handouts to provide a reference that patients can keep when they leave the clinic. This intervention did not significantly decrease patients’ average clinic dwell time, but it allowed physicians and technologists to focus on patient care rather than repetitive paperwork, resulting in a 20% decrease in the physician-patient consultation time and eliminating an extra task. We were able to use lean methodology to eliminate a source of redundancy identified by patients, technologists, and physicians and improve provider satisfaction. Theranostics are a growing and integral part of nuclear medicine, and this project provides a framework for optimization of patient care and clinic efficiency.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.52519/ACEQI.25.1.2.a9

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

DeSai C, Fisher A. Streamlining Nuclear Theranostic Clinic Workflow. Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement. 2025; 1(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.52519/ACEQI.25.1.2.a9.