Abstract 226: Impact of Reporting Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Examination Duration on the Total Scan Time: A Tertiary Academic Health Care Hospital Experience

Abstract

Background: The core components of a quality improvement (QI) program focus on consistent, high-quality service delivery. We report our experience with a QI program focused on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) examination duration reduction. Methods: Department policy for the scan time allotment for a clinical CMR examination was reviewed. Medical records of all patients who underwent CMR examination from January 2010 to December 2010 were reviewed. Scan duration from time of the initial to the final image acquisition was recorded. An intervention was implemented from January 2011 to September 2011 to report the scan durations weekly to all CMR physicians. Monthly comparisons were performed between the 2010 and 2011 exams. No changes were made in department protocols. Results: The allotted time for a CMR examination was 90 minutes. From January to September 2010, the mean (±SD) scan duration for CMR examinations was 105 (± 32) minutes, as compared with a mean of 87 (±21) minutes for the same months in 2011. Comparison between the 2010 and 2011 scan durations using a Wilcoxon test indicated a significant difference between the two samples (p<0.05; Figure 1). The percentage of all scans exceeding 120 minutes in duration decreased from 27.4% (n=529) in 2010 to 5.3% (n=451) in 2011. The indications for CMR examinations were found to be similar between 2011 and 2010 (p<0.05). All exams were reported to be of diagnostic quality. Conclusions: The simple step of publicly reporting weekly scan durations to house staff and attending physicians resulted in significant reduction in CMR scan durations, with preserved diagnostic quality. We propose that increased awareness led to higher efficiency.