Reducing Delays in MRIs Under Sedation and General Anesthesia Using Quality Improvement Tools

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging and Radiology
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Delays in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) under sedation or general anesthesia (GA) can negatively impact patient outcomes and operational efficiency.
• Identifying and addressing root causes of these delays is crucial for optimizing imaging services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement structured quality improvement interventions aimed at reducing delays for MRIs performed under sedation or GA.
• To achieve a 15%-point reduction in scans delayed by more than 15 minutes within a six-month period.

Main Methods:

• A prospective audit of 627 MRIs (sedation/GA) was conducted from January 2022 to June 2023.
• Process mapping and root cause analysis identified delay factors, leading to interventions implemented via four Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles.
• Delay metrics, including scans delayed >15 min and >60 min, were compared pre- and post-intervention.

Main Results:

• Baseline: 71.6% of scans were delayed >15 min; 28.2% were delayed >60 min (median delay: 30 min).
• Post-intervention: A 34.7%-point reduction in scans delayed >15 min and a 17.5%-point reduction in scans delayed >60 min were observed.
• Median delay time decreased by 15 minutes (P < .001).

Conclusions:

• Structured quality improvement interventions, involving multidisciplinary teams and PDSA cycles, significantly reduced delays in MRIs under sedation and GA.
• These interventions have the potential to improve both patient outcomes and provider workflow efficiency.
• Stakeholder engagement and diverse team perspectives were key to the successful implementation and outcomes.