Mri Case

Executive Summary

As the decisions makers David Wright together with Kevin Saskiw we have evaluated in detail the current existing backlog at the Benton-Cooper Medical Center (BCMC). We propose making the necessary adjustments to address the backlog of MRI scans and better manage the bottleneck of the process. The scheduling department will require improvements in order to reduce cycle time and flow of information from patient to technologist as in a "typical" supply chain. By better managing the scheduling process we will definitely reduce wait times and increase productivity to meet set expectations of two patients per hour, which gives an output rate of 16 MRIs per day or 64 MRIs per working week without having to hire additional personnel.

The BCMC MRI clinic is experiencing backlog delays which in fact are affecting the relationship between BCMC and Quinte MRI. The clinic was not meeting expectations of 2 scans per hour, administrators complained extensively about the MR poor performance, reduced productivity and loss of patient referrals were the key core issues of the MRI facility. Competing clinics were benefitting from Quinte MRI's backlog. BCMC is at risk of losing their competitive edge.

Quinte MRI was a small but ever growing organization due to its specialization in medical diagnostic technologies. Quinte's MRI equipment and components were from leading manufacturers. Quinte MRI believed that smaller communities typically deserved the same level of health services as larger urban centers. Improved process flow will definitely enhance MRI operation more effective and manageable which will ultimately make Quinte MRI and BCMC much more competitive within the MRI industry.

Issues identification

Backlog was the most immediate issue faced by Quinte MRI. The backlog has now exceeded 14 days, resulting in providing a poor quality of service to the patients. This backlog has put a strain on the relationship between BCMC and Quinte MRI and has lost referrals to the competing MRI clinics in attempt to obtain a timelier scan result. Extensive wait times has placed constraints on the overall process and caused bottlenecks in the MRI process which resulted in poor customer satisfaction and with overly working concerns of BCMC's sole MR technologist, Jeff Sinclair.

Dr. Syed Haider has become increasingly concerned with the performance of the BCMC MRI clinic. Even though it has only been in operation for six weeks the MRI clinic has failed to meet promises made by Haider and GE to scan patients at a rate of two per hour. The administrators complained about the MR machine's low productivity, the strain of the MR Technologists overtime schedule and the loss of patient referral.

The scheduling department had evident issues on hand. The MRI clinic is scheduled for one scan per hour and is having difficulty reaching that output; it was promised to reach a capacity of 2 scans per hour. Patients are scheduled in at the wrong times and are not being screened properly causing delays for other patients. Other patients are scheduled in that shouldn't receive an MRI due to medical conditions. Mistakes on the MRI form on particulars scans are increasingly causing for the MRI Technologist to questions their abilities. The schedule appointment form is clearly unreadable and not legible to the MRI Technologist. Examples; "one day there was only three appointments scheduled but the scheduling department thought it was full"-this is clearly a bottleneck and issue for the MRI process.

Clearly another issue is the MRI clinic's poor communication. The main point of leverage for improved performance is information sharing. The bottleneck between the patient and the scheduling department is clearly attributable to the main issue. Patients fail to show up or cancel at the last minute. There are also communication barriers between the radiologist and the MR Technologist. The radiologist requires the images as soon as the patient is scanned but the MR Technologist cannot meet this expectation.

Technology seems to lack at Quinte MRI clinic. Unreadable hand-written appointment forms cause irritability and delays to the MR Technologist. Providing the information on a database can clearly place Quinte MRI on the competitive edge and most importantly reduce cycle time.

Environmental and Root Cause Analysis

Quinte MRI is a small service provider of medical diagnostic technologies. After more than a month in operation at a medical centre, the company developed an extensive waiting list that led physicians to begin referring patients to competing facilities. Quinte MRI's business development coordinators, Wright and Saskiw must provide recommendations and an action plan to deal with this process and productivity problem in a setting with extreme variability. The current performance of the MRI clinic was quickly becoming a burden. The MRI clinic was not meeting its promised expectations of two scans per hour. In order for the clinic's management to increase productivity and improve performance certain decisions must be made to properly manage the overall flow of the process and cut out any delays that are discovered along the way.

In order for the MRI clinic to regain its competitive edge the overall process and flow must be streamlined increasing patient intake and capacity to meet deadlines. The scanning process is performed by using the MRI machine, as every patients needs are completely distinct from one another, the time it takes to do each scan is unknown, and as each scan may have different times associated with it depending on the type of scan to be performed, the overall process is limited to the capacity of the machine. Improvements must commence at the beginning as each step in the scanning process is dependent upon the previous one. The goal is to improve the process flow up to the point that the actual scan takes place. The process that is currently being used is once the MRI clinic receives a referral from a doctor and an appointment is booked, it is only when the patient arrives that screening is being completed and this is only started by the MRI Technologist when escorting the patient to the Magnet room. Very often patients with certain medical histories are rejected. During the first month of operation the clinic rejected 1.2 patients per day, this resulted in idle time.