Capacity, Process Flow and Bottlenecks - Quinte Mri Essay

Some patients, particularly those who experience “scanxiety”, may not be familiar with the unique features the machine offers and will have questions about this and other MRI options.

Purchasing new MRI scanners for the hospital is a good idea for the hospital because although expensive for the first time purchase, the maintenance issues will be less. Any product reused or refurbished automatically requires more maintenance. The only time a refurbished item is very good in comparison to the average life span of a new one is if all of the mechanics have been completely replaced with brand new pieces and the body of the machine is the only thing refurbished but that would be very unlikely. Maintenance costs is what will be cut over time and in the end the hospital will be happy that they purchased new medical machinery. It ensures that the machine will do the job correctly the first time around and doctors have more accurate results for patients.

The economic cost for the clinic due to waiting times rise. By taking more time to process the patients, the clinic cannot reach its potential of seeing 108 patients. This of course results in less revenue. Currently the clinic operates at 74% capacity, resulting in a loss of 26% revenue.

Currently the clinic sees about 45 patients per day and they have capacity to handle 85. If they continue how they are operating the clinic is looking at a loss of $3,173. At this rate the clinic will not be able to make a profit in spite of inflation over the next couple years.

Using the average data given (2010) of 45 patients per day, average $130 revenue per patient, and a cost of $3.50 per patient. The Forecasted P&L Statement is shown below.

The facility is also in need of new equipment to make sure patients are receiving the proper care and to reduce costs in the long-term. The facility needs to purchase these machines. The machines needed are as followed: high-speed CT scanner, an x-ray machine, and an ultrasound system. There are a few different options when obtaining medical equipment and in this case the facility is purchasing new equipment, purchasing refurbished equipment, or obtaining an operation or capital lease. The best strategy for purchasing a high-speed CT scanner would be to purchase a refurbished machine. The useful and usual life of this equipment is approximately 10 years. Although the hospital may need to upgrade the technology of the scanner in five years, at this time buying a refurbished scanner is the best option. The hospital can upgrade the equipment at a later time extending the usual life of this device. This will be recorded as an asset, but at a lesser value. The loan rate is also low at 9%.

The duration for each appointment should include actual time needed to conduct the scan as well as set-up and transition time. The technologist should not retrieve or escort the patient from and to the front desk. I would recommend having a transport person that conducts dual task. The task should include, transporting patient to and from the technologist, assisting walk-in patients. In order to decrease the lead time from scan to reading of MRI, I recommend installing an electronic medical record system. This will allow the radiologist to read the scan in real time. Outsourcing the transcription of reports should be eliminated. The electronic medical system will allow the radiologist to document and sign reports. It also prevent records from being transported to the scheduling center; reducing the number of times the patient information is touch as well as improving communication. By conducting the task in-house allows Quinte to save money. Quinte MRI facility is a 24 hour facility. I would recommend closing the facility on Saturday and Sunday due the lack of scans

On the other hand, clinical labor costs account for the majority of the clinic’s expenses; during the high season they run up to $150,000 a month, however it drops to $120,000 a month during the remainder of the year. The clinic must pay for other monthly expenses, such as fixed general and administrative expenses including clerical labor ($30,000/month), lease obligations ($12,000/month) and miscellaneous expenses ($10,000/month) as well as maintain a minimum cash balance of $50,000 at First Bank because of compensating balance requirements on its term loan. This amount, but no more, is expected to be on hand on January 1, 2010.

Individuals wanting to operate their own diagnostic imaging center, using Qunite MRI as a consultant to develop and carry out the necessary steps to establish the clinic: they want freedom from the hassles establishing the business and are

There is significant demand for MRI scans in the United States. The annual scan rate is approximately 68 per 1000 people. It is anticipated that the demand for MRI scans in Adelaide County will continue to grow at approximately 15 percent per year. In addition, the Cancer rate of Adelaide County is higher than the national average, making this partnership with BCMC a sustainable business decision for Quinte.

The first opportunity for Texas Health Care Imaging is the business slant with the development towards coordinating computerized imaging and electronic restorative records. The move in the medical services industry is consistently acknowledged to advance toward an electronic restorative record and part of that includes a total digital solution of imaging examinations. U.S. Federal government regulations are forcing the industry towards direct digital imaging solutions by 2017 to maintain current Medicare reimbursement rates. The “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (American, 2016) will reduce Medicare reimbursement rates by 30% for any non-direct digital radiology imaging. Texas Health Care Imaging arrangements are for the most part

When figuring out the costs for revenues you need to figure out how much the network will earn from all the scans done throughout the five year period. When configuring revenue associated with scans you need to look for total payments which are nineteen thousand and six hundred and ninety then multiple total payments by fifty weeks. This equals out to nine hundred and eighty four thousand and five hundred annually, then multiple the annual revenue by five years. The total scan revenue for five years comes out to four million and nine hundred and twenty two thousand and five hundred dollars. The next amount added to the revenues for the physician’s network is the amount the MRI machine can be salvaged for which are seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The next equation to configure is the total revenue costs. How you configure the total revenue costs is by adding the total scan revenues and the salvage costs, which equals out to five million and six hundred and seventy two thousand and five hundred dollars. The final equation is to figure out the net revenues of the MRI machine and that is to take the total revenues and subtract the total expenses for five years. The total revenue is five million and six hundred and seventy two thousand and five hundred and you then subtract the total expenses, which is

The clinic manager’s role in this process change will be to educate the staff on the importance of this change and why this change needs to happen. The manager will also be responsible for monitoring staff engagement and if the patients are receiving this education. The manager is the one who has the power to get this project off the ground. The manager’s interest in the change is to increase the clinics patient satisfaction and to ensure that the patients are educated. The manager will be the person responsible for maintaining the information on the Internet with the clinic-specific information.

Radiographic contrast is defined as being “the variation of the light and dark areas on a radiograph” (Radiographic Contrast ). Simply put, the greater the contrast the greater the definition and visibilty the imgae has. Now contrast has a handful of outside factors that affect the image. Milliampere- seconds impact contrast because if an image is over or under-exposed than the contrast is directly effected. Beam modifactions are in place to remove as much scatter radiation as possible (Adler, Arlene). The less scatter or “fog” radiation causes the image to have a higher quality contrast (Adler, Arlene). Image receptors and grids also influence radiographic

Last of the diagnostic imaging tools is the MRI. MRI, which stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, was a technique developed in the 1950?s by Felix Bloch, and is the most versatile, powerful, and sensitive tool in use. The process of MRI was originally called NRI, Nuclear Resonance Imaging, but was found to be to confusing due to the fact that MRI?s don?t use radioactivity and ionizing radiation. The MRI generates a very powerful electromagnetic field, which allows the radiologist to generate thin-section images of any part of the body. Also it can take these images from any direction or angle, and is done without and surgical invasion. Another plus side to the MRI is the time it takes to perform, where as a CAT scan may take 30-60 min. A MRI may only take 15 minutes max. The MRI also creates ?maps? of biochemical compounds within a cross-section of the body. These maps give basic biomedical and anatomical information that provides new knowledge and may allow early diagnosis of many diseases.