CT SCAN CENTRES
Scanner Utilisation and Urgent-Request Handling for a CT Centre
A physician's assistant rings at ten at night asking if the scanner can take a case. The night technician says to call back in the morning, and the case goes to the hospital down the road. The scanner then sits unused until six.
We advise on how the centre runs: scanner hours, urgent-request routines, referrer follow-up, contrast and film stock, reporting workflow and a weekly view for the owner. Imaging protocols, radiation safety and reporting decisions stay with your radiologists and the regulator.
Discuss your priorities ↗COMMON CHALLENGES
The pressures
we often see.
- 01The scanner is the largest fixed cost in the building, yet scans per day are counted loosely and no one separates urgent cases from scheduled ones.
- 02Urgent calls from hospitals and clinics reach whoever picks up, and answers about slots, cost and preparation differ by shift.
- 03Contrast agents and consumables are billed at a flat rate that nobody has compared with what each study really uses.
- 04Referring doctors send a few patients in a month, then stop, and the centre has no record showing who has gone quiet.
- 05Reports wait for the radiologist's turn while the referrer calls twice to ask, and no one owns the pending list.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01Scanner hours open, hours with a patient on the table, and hours lost to delay, by shift
- 02A single script and a single phone line for urgent requests, with the slot available shown on a board
- 03The mix of scheduled and urgent scans per week, and the revenue difference between them
- 04Contrast and consumable cost per study type compared with the price charged
- 05A referrer sheet showing scans sent per doctor per month, with a note when one drops
- 06Pending-report list by age of the study, read each morning by the manager
- 07Technician roster fit against the hours when requests actually come in
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- For one week, log every urgent call: time, who called, what was asked and what the answer was. At the end, count how many converted to a scan and how many were lost.
- Hypothetical example: if the scanner is available for twelve hours a day and runs fourteen scans of thirty minutes each, it works seven hours. The five idle hours are worth a close look.
- List the ten referrers who sent the most scans last quarter. Beside each, write how many they sent this quarter. Pick the one with the biggest fall and have the owner ring them.
A PRACTICAL ENGAGEMENT
Start with the priorities
that matter most.
We begin by understanding how your business runs today, find the gaps, and agree the scope in writing. Recommendations are shaped around your team, your resources and your goals.
- An urgent-request routine: who answers, what is asked, who confirms the slot and how the referrer is told
- A scanner utilisation sheet filled each day and summarised each week
- A costing sheet per study type, with contrast and consumable lines your store person fills
- A pending-reports board and a morning review routine with an owner
Not the right fit when: A radiation-safety finding, equipment fault, licensing matter or report dispute needs a qualified professional or the regulator first. A centre whose scanner is not yet installed has nothing to schedule.
Explore a business audit ↗LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
