When offered $5000 bonuses, motivated residents at Massachusetts General Hospital completed scan signoffs in a fraction of the usual time.
A study showed that turnaround times decreased from 19 hours to five within a year in the pay-for-performance incentive.
In an effort to reduce report turnaround times, MGH offered 98 of its residents a bonus if they cut the time it took from examination completion to final signature. Some 1.5 million reports were analyzed at the large teaching hospital.
Measurements included the time from exam completion to preliminary report availability by residents or fellows, and the time from preliminary report to final staff signature. Dictation was performed using voice recognition software, a key factor in the process.
Goals varied according to practice, from two hours for the emergency department to 24 hours for neuro-interventional radiology.
The pay-for-performance measure was most profound for the preliminary to final report signoff segment, where turnaround time was reduced by more than 24 hours.
In addition to the bonus incentive, peer pressure was a factor as well, the researchers said.
In another report from the same session on health policy, an analysis of fibroid treatment options showed that, not surprisingly, women prefer MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery or uterine artery embolization over the traditional hysterectomy.
Some 400 patients participated in the telephone survey that measured quality of life issues, costs, and outcomes. A majority of the women were 10 years from menopause.
For most of the women, the longer they waited before getting treatment, the worse they felt about it, especially getting a hysterectomy, the researchers said.
Editor's note: Our British colleagues reported unfamiliarity with the American slang term moola, which means money in the States but must make no sense at all to non-English speakers. One reader thought moola was the name of a commercial quality improvement program or a type of software. Our apologies if our attempts to liven up the headlines have led to confusion. Is some developer out there ready to create that moola program?
Moola gets reports flying out the door
By Donna Domino |
December 2, 2008
RSNA 2008 Ultrasound
Siemens taps technology to boost performance
November 1, 2009 Workflow, patient comfort, image quality rise with innovative devices and applications. Breast ultrasound scanner debuts in Siemens RSNA booth
December 5, 2008 Siemens Healthcare unveiled a breast ultrasound system at RSNA 2008 whose automated exams could help women’s health practitioners achieve the potential of ultrasound as a complement to mammography. Touchscreen enhances GE compact ultrasound
December 4, 2008 GE Healthcare combined ultrasound scanner controls and real-time imaging on a single display with the integration of a touchscreen monitor into its compact Logiq e product. Radiologists identify new self-embedding disorder plaguing teens
December 3, 2008 A new kind of self-mutilation is creeping into the teenage population, one that involves inserting objects into the body, according to radiologist Dr. William E. Shiels, II, who presented the first study of the adolescent phenomenon at the RSNA conference Wednesday. CT bests ultrasound for diagnosing ER patients with abdominal pain
December 3, 2008 The news was mixed for CT in the emergency department in research presented Wednesday at the RSNA meeting. CT was found to be better than ultrasound for diagnosing ER patients with abdominal pain, but radiation dose can be drastically reduced for patients suspected of appendicitis, according to authors of several studies. Automated breast ultrasound identifies nonexistent breast cancer lesions
December 3, 2008 Automated breast ultrasound should not replace handheld ultrasound in a diagnostic breast center but rather should be used in conjunction with it or play a role in screening breast ultrasound, according to a study presented at the 2008 RSNA meeting. Moola gets reports flying out the door
December 2, 2008 When offered $5000 bonuses, motivated residents at Massachusetts General Hospital completed scan signoffs in a fraction of the usual time. |
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