Department of Veterans Affairs
VA Handbook 7610 (276)
Washington, DC 20420
June 2006
C.
These criteria are subject to modification relative to development in the equipment,
medical practice, vendor requirements, and subsequent planning and design. The
selection of the size and type of Radiology equipment is determined by VACO
Radiology Service and upon Veterans Health Administration (VHA) anticipated
medical needs.
D.
Radiology Services, as used in these criteria, includes all diagnostic imaging
modalities such asradiology, fluoroscopy, computed tomography (CT), interventional
radiology, ultrasound, mammography, and bone densitometry.
E.
Room capacity per year should be based on:
Operating days per year x Hours of operation per day
= Number of
Minutes per procedure / 60 minutes
annual procedures
1.
The general planning model for VA facilities assumes 250 Operating Days per
Year and 8 Hours of Operation per Day. Room capacity will fluctuate as hours of
operation are modified, i.e., additional capacity may be generated by extending
the daily hours of operation within the same physical setting.
2.
Basic Room Efficiency Factor is 80%.
a. Modalities with routine, scheduled procedures and backup equipment (more
than one piece of the same type of equipment in the department) should plan for
an efficiency factor of 85%.
Example: Assume a procedure room that averages 30 minute per
procedure/suite stop:
250 operating days per year x 8 hours of operation per day
= 4,000 annual
30 minutes per procedure / 60 minutes
procedures
A maximum capacity of 4,000 procedures/suite stops per year, assuming 100%
utilization. However, 100% utilization is not realistic to achieve, thus, it is not
realistic as a design standard. Apply Room Efficiency Factor:
4,000 x 80% = 3,200 annual procedures. TABLE 1: WORKLOAD PARAMETER
CALCULATION
AVERAGE
ANNUAL
MINIMUM
LENGTH OF
PROCEDURES
WORKLOAD
PROCEDURE
PER ROOM
TO GENERATE
PROCEDURE
(minutes)
(rounded)
ONE ROOM
General Purpose
22
4,370
1,310
Radiology Room
Chest Room -
20
4,800
1,440
Dedicated
Radiographic /
45
2,140
640
Fluoroscopic (R/F)
Radiology Service (Chapter 276): Page 6 of 28
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