Reducing STAT Portable Chest Radiograph Turnaround Times: A Pilot Study

Our health system orders a high number of STAT priority portable chest radiographs (62%) compared to Routine (35%) and Today (3%). Retrospective chart review of 1000 chest radiographs ordered with the STAT priority revealed that 38% of studies did not indicate clinical urgency. Given the high number or STAT priority portable chest radiographs ordered, prioritizing acquisition and interpretation of true STATs has become challenging for technologists and radiologists, leading to process inefficiencies, long turnaround times (TATs), communication failures, and patient-safety errors.

Source: Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology - July 10, 2017 Category: Radiology Authors: Pratik Rachh, Alexa O. Levey, Andrew Lemmon, Aurora Marinescu, William F. Auffermann, Daniel Haycook, Eugene A. Berkowitz Source Type: research