Improving Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Scanning Efficiency: Impact on Diagnostic Image Quality and Patient Management.

Background

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging access is bottlenecked by prolonged scan times and limited specialist availability. PROJECT

Rationale

We aimed to optimize clinical workflows by implementing a dual-intervention strategy including a scanner library of optimized, pathology-driven CMR scan protocols and real-time, hybrid (remote and in-person) scan supervision by an advanced imaging cardiologist. We evaluated the impact of this strategy on CMR image quality and patient management over 12 months. PROJECT SUMMARY Retrospective review of 499 charts (160 preintervention, 339 postintervention) revealed reduced CMR scan times by 38.6%, with median times dropping from 84.7 preintervention to 53 minutes postintervention (P < 0.001), improved diagnostic quality (24.5% preintervention vs 58.3% postintervention, P = 0.008) and increased management-impacting studies (11.3% preintervention vs 53.4% postintervention, P = 0.0001). TAKE-HOME MESSAGE Standardizing CMR scan protocols and leveraging real-time cardiac imager oversight with remote scanning technology maximizes existing human resource capacity, improves diagnostic image quality, and has a positive impact on patient management.