Radiotherapy waiting times DSS pilot collection 2013- 15

The main purpose of the Radiotherapy waiting times data set specification (RWT DSS) is to describe the information that must be collected to calculate the waiting times for the following time period in the treatment pathway for radiotherapy services in Australia: the time between the patient's ready-for-care date and the date of the first megavoltage external beam radiotherapy treatment.Establishments in scope are those healthcare establishments that provide megavoltage external beam radiotherapy treatment (in- scope radiotherapy treatment). Both public and private establishments are in scope. While it is mandatory for public establishments to report data to the collection, private providers are also encouraged to participate. The scope is not limited by patient diagnosis: it includes people with cancer (notifiable and non-notifiable) and people who do not have cancer. People in scope are those who started a course of radiotherapy treatment within the reference period. For public establishments, all in scope activity should be reported, including services provided by specialists operating under right of private practice arrangements.