Outpatient vascular labs no more efficient than inpatient labs

(HealthDay)—There seems to be little difference in efficiency between inpatient vascular laboratories (IPVL) and outpatient vascular laboratories (OPVL), according to a study published online June 28 in the Journal of Clinical Ultrasound.

Babatunde A. Oriowo, M.B.B.S., from The Ohio State University in Columbus, and colleagues asked vascular sonographers at academic IPVL and OPVL to track their daily activities during five consecutive weekdays. They logged test type, scan time, delays in patient arrival, preparation for test, computer entry, and administrative time.

The researchers found that in OPVL there was significantly greater delay in patient arrival and non-patient-related administration activities (P < 0.01 and 0.03, respectively). Only 38.8 percent of the technologist's day was occupied with actual scan time; the rest was spent on patient- and non-patient-related activities.

"No appreciable differences were noted between IPVL and OPVL in most of the efficiency parameters measured," the authors write. "OPVL were not more efficient than IPVL. In order to maximize efficiency in OPVL, non-patient-related activities, which occupy over a quarter of the daily workday, must be shifted from technologists to support staff."