Imaging administrators say improving staff morale a top priority after stressful 2020
U.S. radiology providers delivered roughly 20% fewer CT scans in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to an analysis published Tuesday.
All told, the specialty performed roughly 73 million scans (down from 91.4) across hospitals, associated outpatient locations and independent imaging centers, IMV reported. Cancellations and no-shows due to fears of COVID, along with declines in CT-related elective procedures, were the top reasons, according to the research firm’s survey of 330 administrators.
Because of these trends, roughly one-third of practice leaders said they have been forced to either freeze hiring and execute layoffs or furloughs among CT staffers. Another one-quarter of respondents also said they reduced operating hours in 2020 because of the pandemic.
“Going forward, staff morale is a key concern for the department administrators due to these operational issues and the associated stress with day-to-day uncertainties,” Lorna Young, senior director of imaging insights at IMV’s Medical Information Division, wrote Jan. 19. “Over 90% of the respondents indicated that even if ‘post-COVID recovery’ has taken place, ‘improving staff satisfaction and morale’ will be a top department priority, second only to ‘improving patient satisfaction with their CT experience.’”
Young and the Arlington, Virginia-based firm conducted the survey back in August and September and asked respondents to project totals through the year’s end for the final tally. Administrators reported that the proportion of CT procedures in the outpatient setting dropped from about 44% in 2019 down to 34% last year. Meanwhile, CT in emergency rooms increased from 39% to 45% in 2020. And such procedures for inpatients climbed from 17% up to 21%.
To counter these trends, about 90% of respondents said they have strengthened disinfection procedures and modified their facilities to allow for social distancing. Roughly one-fifth of those polled said the pandemic has affected their budgeting and plans to purchase new CT scanners in the next three years.
You can read more about IMV’s findings here. Another analysis out of Michigan Medicine published in October also highlighted these downward trends in CT, estimating that U.S. practices recorded roughly 3.7 million fewer exams than expected in 2020.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.