Stroke Patients And Diagnostic Testing- The Weekend Waiting Game! (I2-1.010)

BACKGROUND: Inpatient hospitalization contributes considerable costs to healthcare expenditures in the US. Increased lengths of stay (LOS) can lead to increased costs. At the University of Kentucky Medical Center (UKMC), there appear to be delays in care for patients admitted over the weekend due to availability of certain testing, such as MRI and Echocardiogram. This may lead to delays in delivering appropriate care, increased LOS, and costs. DESIGN/METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed charts for stroke patients admitted to UKMC between September to November 2012. Two groups were defined, based on the day of week tests were ordered. Group 1 included patients with MRI/ Echo ordered between Monday through Thursday. Group 2 patients were defined as having tests ordered Friday through Sunday. RESULTS: 275 MRIs were performed with average time from order to completion of 15.60 hours. Average time to completion was 13.2 hours +/- SD 12.6 and 20.75 hours +/- SD 19.5 for Groups 1 (n=168) and 2 (n=97), respectively, p=0.002. 272 Echocardiograms were performed with average time from order to completion of 23.35 hours. Average time to completion was 17.4 hours +/-SD 11.2 and 33.4 +/- SD 21.6 hours for Groups 1 (n=171) and 2 (n=101), respectively, p <0.0001. We examined the impact of test time to completion on hospital costs for minor stroke (defined as LOS <4 days). Average costs were $2731.00 +/ SD 1877 and $3650+/- SD 2738 for Groups 1 and 2, respectively, p=0.042. CONCLUSIONS: There was a 57% increase in the time to complete MRIs and 92% increase in the time to complete Echocardiograms ordered on the weekend. This represents a significant delay in care and can impact costs. The hiring of additional MRI and Echocardiogram technicians could reduce delays in patient care and LOS, thus reducing costs for both patients and the system. Disclosure: Dr. Mathias has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lee has nothing to disclose.