Optimizing Hospital Diagnostic Ultrasound Scheduling: A Brief Survey

Key Messages

• Diagnostic imaging departments in general hospitals located in rural or remote settings experience unique examination demands and challenges compared to their urban counterparts. To gain insight into their scheduling methods and strategies used to optimize capacity for diagnostic ultrasound, a brief survey was developed targeting these facilities.
• Various administrative, human resource, and booking related strategies have been implemented to optimize ultrasound scheduling. The effectiveness of these strategies is dependent on the unique characteristics and capacity of each hospital.
• All survey respondents indicated that their diagnostic imaging department’s ultrasound booking templates incorporate dedicated time for prioritizing emergency, urgent, and inpatient examination requests. About 25% of ultrasound examinations per day are reserved for emergency or urgent bookings.
• Most diagnostic imaging departments have established systems to prioritize ultrasound examinations. These systems may involve consultations with the radiologist, and prioritizing patients requiring emergency care, patients travelling from out of town, or those with complex needs.
• Each week, a median of 25% of patients travel from out of town for their diagnostic ultrasound appointments. This means that out of all the hospitals, one-half reported more than 25% of patients were from out of town, and one-half reported less than 25% of patients were from out of town. However, in some hospitals as many as 85% of patients came from out of town.
• Most examination requests received by the diagnostic imaging department come from referring primary care practitioners. Less commonly, individuals may contact the imaging department directly to schedule appointments, or primary care practitioners may use the hospital’s central intake office.
• The most common methods for scheduling appointments include individual time slot booking, block booking, and clustering appointments based on examination type or duration.