Qualitative exploration of physician experiences with RFA implementation in Canada, highlighting barriers and facilitators.
Key Points
This research aims to describe the experiences of early adopters of thyroid radiofrequency ablation in Canada and identify the barriers and facilitators to its adoption.
Multiple methods including surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted.
Participants included 9 physicians performing thyroid RFA across all listed RFA facilities in Canada.
Implementation experiences were documented to assess barriers and facilitators.
Participants reported a median RFA volume of 2.0 cases/month and longer wait times for surgery at 6.0 months (P < .01).
Major barriers included financial costs associated with RFA equipment, with private funding being the norm in most practices.
Motivators for adopting RFA included professional development opportunities and patient-centered benefits.