An introduction to key performance indicators for medical physicists

• Published in: Journal of applied clinical medical physics Vol. 23; no. 8; pp. e13718 - n/a
• Main Authors: DiCostanzo, Dominic J., Kumaraswamy, Lalith K., Shuman, Jillian, Pavord, Daniel C., Hu, Yanle, Jordan, David W., Waite‐Jones, Christopher, Hsu, Annie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden Massachusetts John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-08-2022; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Business metrics; clinical physics; Digital music; Health care; Health physics; Initiatives; key performance inidicators; Leadership; Management and Profession; Nuclear medicine; Oncology; Patient safety; Performance evaluation; Physicists; Physics; Preventive maintenance; quality control; Radiation; Scope of practice; Stakeholders; Teams
• ISSN: 1526-9914; 1526-9914
• DOI: 10.1002/acm2.13718

Qualified medical physicists (QMPs) are in a unique position to influence the creation and application of key performance indicators (KPIs) across diverse practices in health care. Developing KPIs requires the involvement of stakeholders in the area of interest. Fundamentally, KPIs should provide actionable information for the stakeholders using or viewing them. During development, it is important to strongly consider the underlying data collection for the KPI, making it automatic whenever possible. Once the KPI has been validated, it is important to setup a review cycle and be prepared to adjust the underlying data or action levels if the KPI is not performing as intended. Examples of specific KPIs for QMPs of common scopes of practice are provided to act as models to aid in implementation. KPIs are a useful tool for QMPs, regardless of the scope of practice or practice environment, to enhance the safety and quality of care being delivered.