Comparison of US utilization and technical costs before and after establishment of 24-hour in-house coverage for US examinations.
OBJECTIVE
To compare data regarding the cost and number of ultrasonographic (US) examinations performed for 6 months, before and after institution of 24-hour in-house sonographer coverage.


METHODS
Data for a 6-month period during which US services were provided by a sonographer on call from 11 PM to 7 AM were compared with data for a 6-month period during which a sonographer was in house during this shift.


RESULTS
With 11 PM to 7 AM on-call coverage, the sonographers performed 147 examinations in a 6-month period, an average of 0.81 examination per shift. After institution of in-house coverage for this shift, 792 US examinations were performed in 6 months, an average of 4.3 examinations per shift. The cost for 11 PM to 7 AM in-house sonographer coverage for 6 months was approximately $16,000 more than that for on-call coverage. This cost would be offset by revenues from one additional examination per night. The cost per examination for the 11 PM to 7 AM shift decreased from $124.70 to $43.33.


CONCLUSIONS
At the authors' institution, 24-hour in-house sonographer coverage resulted in additional cost, which was offset by revenues from additional examinations. There was nearly a fivefold increase in the number of US examinations performed per shift. These examinations were performed more expediently, enabling more rapid patient triage.
McGahan
J P
JP
Department of Radiology, University of California-Davis Medical Center, Ambulatory Care Center, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. john.mcgahan@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Cronan
M S
MS
Richards
J R
JR
Jones
C D
CD
D002140:California; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D011872:Radiology Department, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014600:Utilization Review