Evaluation of failure modes and effect analysis for routine risk assessment of lung radiotherapy at a UK center.

Purpose: Explore the feasibility of adopting failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) for risk assessment of a high volume clinical service at a UK radiotherapy center. Compare hypothetical failure modes to locally reported incidents.

Method: An FMEA for a lung radiotherapy service was conducted at a hospital that treats ~ 350 lung cancer patients annually with radical radiotherapy.