How to reduce MRI sedation, anesthesia, claustrophobia & anxiety – & have your Caring MR Suite pay its own way in less than 2 years
Dressed up in your favorite color; mood lighting and music perfectly tuned; and breathtaking nature scapes shine just for you. At first glance, the Caring MR Suite may look like just a (very) pretty MRI suite – or as some patients say, a day at the spa.
“We had one patient so impressed with (our Caring MR Suite) that she asked if she could get a massage, her hair done, and a manicure too! Another patient was like ‘Wow! I’m in heaven!’ This past weekend I had a non-English speaking patient who couldn’t tolerate the 1.5T that we have, so I tried (our new 3T Caring MR Suite) and she went from refusing MRI to smiling when she came out. It was great!”
Sebie – Advocate Christ Medical Center Technologist
Yet beneath the Caring MR Suite’s beautiful exterior lies a wealth of research to support your efforts to not only improve your patient MRI experience, but also reduce costly MRI sedation, anesthesia, failed scans and re-scans.
MRI anxiety is no small matter. As noted in our previous post, a recent Siemens study found 42% of patients report being fearful of MRI and 1 in 7 patients have cancelled an MRI due to fear.
Additionally a recent Harborview study puts the potential cost of patient motion (and needed re-scans) at $115,000 per MRI scanner, per year – and this doesn’t take into account sedation and anesthesia.
According to the July 2010 issue of Radiology, an MRI scan with anesthesia can cost up to 10 times as much as an MRI scan without anesthesia. Sedation can increase MRI scan costs by more than 300%. Moreover, this JACR study finds anesthesia to be on the rise within the pediatric population. Yet, despite fear, costs and risks, for many MRI patients, like Thomas, MRI scans are vital to their health care.
For years, we’ve been encouraged by Caring MR Suite techs and owners who have shared qualitative success stories similar to Sebie’s above and Jake’s below.
“The PDC suite is a real hit! Our patients love the option of music and love the viewing display. We used to send away/reschedule an average 4-6 claustrophobic patients a week. In the month we have been live in our new unit we have only rescheduled one patient to come back with medication. I believe the PDC suite is a big reason for that turnaround.”
Jake – Franklin Community Health Network MRI Technologist
Our own collaborative MRI Patient Experience Study even found 94% of patients reported an “Excellent” MRI experience and 25/25 high anxiety patients reported they would “Highly Recommend” this MRI experience.
However, until recently we did not have quantitative data to demonstrate the Caring MR Suite affect on MRI sedation, anesthesia cases, claustrophobia, productivity and ROI – and the results are more encouraging than we could have hoped for.
What best tips have you found to reduce MRI sedation and improve the MRI experience? Any tips to improve MRI patient experience?
We are always looking to improve our Caring MR Suite patient experience and would love to hear from you on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or by email.
Want to learn more about Caring MR Suite options? Start with our interactive page to explore core options, including integrated MRI RF Shielding – even contact us to create a custom suite, like Intermountain Cedar City’s Caring MR Suite!
