Assessment and analysis for deployment appropriateness of medical linear accelerator at hospitals in China / 中华医院管理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the deployment of medical linear accelerators at 26 hospitals in China, and suggest on the deployment of such accelerators. Methods From June 2017 to November 2018, a total of 26 hospitals were surveyed by stratified random sampling. Descriptive analysis of the deployment and staffing of medical linear accelerators at 26 hospitals, and the deployment appropriateness of the medical linear accelerator was evaluated using the TOPSIS method. Results The number of medical linear accelerators in different types of hospitals was significantly different. The proportion of imported equipment at tertiary hospitals was 80% (12/15) and the proportion of imported equipment at secondary hospitals was 9% (1/11). The professional staff was deployed basically reasonable, and there was a shortage of physicists at some hospitals. The suitability of medical linear accelerators at tertiary hospitals was better than that of secondary hospitals, 80% (12/15) of tertiary hospitals received " good" and above ratings, while 91% (10/11) of the secondary hospitals received " general" and below ratings. Conclusions Hospitals should carry out the allocation of large-scale medical equipment based on their own situations and requirements. Efforts should be paid on training of professional technicians for radiotherapy. It is important to strengthen the management of planning, access and supervision of medical equipment.