Prioritization
NMC Strives to provide all patients with timely imaging services, however in limited cases the use of emergent or STAT designations are appropriate.
It’s important to note that overuse of STAT orders can negatively impact the care of critically ill patients by causing delays in truly urgent test results. Please consider the following when ordering Diagnostic Imaging Services:
Emergent/STAT – Necessary to diagnose and/or treat disease or injury that is immediately threatening to life or limb.
- Examples of a STAT imaging procedure include a head CT to evaluate for a stroke.
Urgent – Not life threatening.
- Studies, if delayed, will have an impact on the acute status of the patient.
Routine – Regular health monitoring
Clinical Considerations
- Clinical urgency: STAT tests should be reserved for medical emergencies or life-threatening situations. Urgent tests address significant health concerns needing timely intervention, while routine tests are for regular health monitoring.
- Turnaround time (TAT):
– STAT: Typically 1 hour or less from patient arrival
– Urgent: Often within 48 hours to 7 days
– Routine: Longer TAT, usually 3-4 hours or up to several days - Patient location: Tests for ER, ICU, NICU, L&D, and OR patients are often classified as STAT or urgent
- Procedure type: Certain tests, like cardiac markers or head CT are more likely to be classified as STAT.
- Physician input: The ordering physician’s assessment of urgency.
- Impact on patient care: Tests that directly influence immediate treatment decisions are more likely to be classified as STAT or urgent.
Report Release Priorities
Diagnostic Imaging Studies performed at Northwestern Medical Center will be prioritized, interpreted, and disbursed based on the priority assigned by the referring/ordering provider. However, NMC Diagnostic Imaging maintains the discretion to re-prioritize report distribution when clinically appropriate, based on a studies result, or other factors such as a high volume of STAT or Emergent studies due to a surge event. All completed studies will otherwise be interpreted, and results will be disbursed accordingly (written or verbal).
- Components of NMC Imaging reports will include:
- Patient Demographics
- The facility or location where the study was performed.
- Name of patient, age or date of birth, and gender
- Name(s) of referring physician(s) or other health care provider(s). If the patient is self-referred (a patient who seeks medical care without referral from a physician/health care provider)
- Name or type of examination
- Date of the examination
- Time of the examination, if relevant (e.g., for patients who are likely to have
- more than one of a given examination per day)
- Date of dictation
- Date and time of transcription
- Relevant Clinical Information
- Body of the report
- Procedures and material
- Findings
- Potential limits
- Clinical Issues
- Impression
- “STAT”, “Wet Read”, “Stroke” or “Routine” studies will be prioritized and interpreted according to urgency.
- “STAT” or “Wet Read” studies will be interpreted within 1 hour of the study being completed.
- “Stroke” protocol studies will be interpreted, and the results will be disbursed within 30 min of the CT scan being completed.
- “Standard” or “Routine” (except for studies where outside imaging needs to be obtained and mammography studies) studies will be interpreted and results disbursed within a 48-hour period of the study being completed.
- For mammography studies report turn-around time should be 75% at forty-eight (48) hours, and 100% in 5 days. The date a copy of the physician’s written report is sent to the appropriate physician, or beneficiary, should be no later than three (3) to five (5) days after the official rea