Three CT techs increase throughput and revenue

Assuming that a busy imaging department has an unlimited supply of patients, it can generate up to an additional $6.2 million by assigning two or three technologists to maximize the productivity of a multislice CT scanner, according to a study reported at the December RSNA meeting.

By splitting the responsibility for scanner setup, patient preparation, and image acquisition and processing between two technologists, Dr. Giles Boland and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital cut patient throughput times from 26 minutes for a single technologist to 14 minutes for a technologist pair. A trio of technologists assigned to the suite reduced throughput time to 11 minutes per patient.

The researchers calculated that during an 18-hour workday, the scanner could handle up to 41 patients when staffed with a single technologist, 77 with two technologists, and 98 with three. Assuming that the average scan produces $300 in revenue, the trio-tech setup could potentially generate $10.7 million annually.