Total quality culture in radiotherapy departments across Ontario

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of total quality culture (TQC) within radiation therapy (RT) departments across Ontario, Canada. METHODS: A prospective quantitative survey was distributed within RT departments across Ontario, Canada using the Miller Consulting Group Quality Culture survey. FINDINGS: Ninety percent of managers (9/10) and 50% of employees (261/519) participated. There was concordance between managers and staff that overall RT departments exhibit a work culture that somewhat resembles TQC. Both groups scored 55% of the categories as somewhat agree with TQC and 9% of categories as no TQC. There was discordance in views for 36% of the categories, where managers scored a higher prevalence of TQC compared to their therapists. Larger RT departments (>50 employees) had more prevalence of discrepancy between group scores. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to report on the prevalence of TQC within RT departments. Strategies designed for on-going continuous improvement will benefit staff, RT managers, continuity of patient care and patient safety within RT departments.