Early Adoption of Thyroid Radiofrequency Ablation in Canada: Physician Experiences, Barriers, and Facilitators to Implementation.
Importance: Thyroid radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery for thyroid nodules. Despite strong international evidence, thyroid RFA was only approved by Health Canada in April 2023. Understanding the experiences of early adopters can inform the broader adoption o...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery Vol. 55; pp. 1 - 10 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Sage Publications Inc.
06/18/2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=194727447&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 194727447 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 07077270 8B4Q jtl: Journal of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery issn: 07077270 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 06/18/2026 vid: 55 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. place: Thousand Oaks, California artinfo: ui: 194727447 194727447 194727447 10.1177/19160216261451820 194727447 ppf: 1 ppct: 9 formats: tig: atl: Early Adoption of Thyroid Radiofrequency Ablation in Canada: Physician Experiences, Barriers, and Facilitators to Implementation. aug: au: Gao, Harrison Liu, David Levy, Ben B. Shapiro, Justin Higgins, Kevin M. Khalil, Diana E. Cottrill, Elizabeth E. Poon, Courtney Kamalraj, Pabiththa Philteos, Justine Eskander, Antoine affil: Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada sug: subj: Radiofrequency Ablation Canada Thyroid Nodule Therapy Implementation Science Physician Attitudes Evaluation Health Services Accessibility Evaluation Funding Source Canada Human Descriptive Statistics Otolaryngologists Surgeons Radiologists Endocrinologists Purposive Sample Multimethod Studies Semi-Structured Interview Qualitative Studies Descriptive Research Pilot Studies Quantitative Studies Mann-Whitney U Test Data Analysis Software Thematic Analysis Interview Guides ab: Importance: Thyroid radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery for thyroid nodules. Despite strong international evidence, thyroid RFA was only approved by Health Canada in April 2023. Understanding the experiences of early adopters can inform the broader adoption of RFA in Canada and other healthcare systems. Objective: To describe the implementation experiences of early adopters of thyroid RFA in Canada and identify barriers and facilitators to adoption. Design: Multiple methods. Setting: All 8 listed RFA facilities in Canada. Participants: Physicians performing thyroid RFA (n = 9). Main Outcome Measures: Survey and semi-structured interviews. Results: Most participants reported low RFA volumes (median [IQR] = 2.0 [0.6-3.0] cases/month) and short wait times (1.5 [1.0-2.0] months). For thyroid surgery on similar nodules, participants performed higher volumes (7.5 [6.0-10.2] cases/month, P =.01) and had longer wait times (6.0 [5.5-8.5] months, P <.01). Four major themes emerged: (1) financial barriers and inequity; (2) impact on the healthcare system; (3) learning curve; and (4) motivators and facilitators. Financial barriers were driven by the RFA generator ($40 500 CAD) and single-use probes ($1500-$2500 CAD). RFA was funded privately out-of-pocket in most physician practices (n = 7) and rarely publicly covered (n = 2). Motivators and facilitators included patient-centred benefits, professional development, institutional support, and potential resource savings. Conclusions: Thyroid RFA adoption in Canada is in its infancy, characterized by low procedural volumes, few providers, and geographical disparities. Early adopters reported positive experiences with RFA. However, inconsistent funding models, billing codes, and policy frameworks have resulted in inequitable access for patients. Relevance: Many healthcare systems are in the early stages of RFA adoption, similar to Canada. This study identifies key experiences, barriers, and facilitators applicable to physicians, leaders, and policymakers globally who are interested in adopting RFA. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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