Reducing STAT Portable Chest Radiograph Turnaround Times: A Pilot Study.

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Medical Imaging
• Healthcare Systems Engineering
• Patient Safety

Background:

• High volume of STAT priority portable chest radiographs (62%) in health systems.
• 38% of STAT orders lacked clinical urgency, causing process inefficiencies.
• Challenges in prioritizing true STATs led to delays and potential errors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address challenges in STAT radiography by improving the process for urgent imaging.
• To reduce turnaround times and enhance the accuracy of STAT interpretations.

Main Methods:

• A multidisciplinary team analyzed the existing imaging order pathway.
• Developed and implemented guidelines for true STAT examinations.
• Introduced a new "urgent" order category in intensive care units over 9 months.

Main Results:

• Median turnaround time (TAT) for image acquisition dropped from 70 to 16 minutes.
• Median TAT for radiologist interpretation decreased from 520 to 14 minutes.
• "Urgent" examinations showed higher concordance (70%) with patient status than STATs (62%).

Conclusions:

• Standardized process for identifying, ordering, and interpreting true STAT examinations.
• The new system improves efficiency and accuracy in time-sensitive imaging.
• This model can be a template for other hospital locations and service lines.