Final Draft 12-31-95
Revised May 1997
Functional Considerations
Narrative
Patient Care Concept
Patient Base
Providing more convenient access to health
VA Radiology facilities are focused upon serving
care in non institutional environments is a
the Veteran, and may include sharing agreements,
trend which is applicable to radiology
joint ventures and referrals including efforts to
diagnostic services.
include the veteran's family as well as the general
public.
Patient focused care concepts may be
applicable to Radiology Services in selected
Medical Records
areas.
Diagnostic evaluations generated within the
department become part of the veteran's
Core facilities and core staff in hospital based
Consolidated Health Record with actual films
facilities could serve as a resource which
and/or electronic data stored locally within the
includes more highly specialized and lower
Radiology Facility.
volume modalities in addition to general
inpatient services.
Evaluations are also communicated to the ordering
physician in either hard copy or electronic form as
Although many procedures are short duration and
required.
familiar, patient education with family consultation
may be used to avoid the stress which some
Image manipulation, interpretation, archiving,
specialized procedures may invoke on patients not
retrieval and distribution procedures may occur
familiar with the process and equipment.
within the Radiology Facility or may occur at
remote specialty facilities linked to department
Patient and procedure volumes should be
archives and mainframe.
considered in the decision to move equipment or
patients receiving multiple procedures.
Patient Protocol
Level of Care
Outpatient and inpatient procedure are ordered by
physicians and scheduled by the department
Routine inpatient services could be delivered
during regular business hours.
throughout the hospital (and potentially long
term care facilities) with assistance of cross
Unscheduled and off-hour procedures will depend
trained nursing and medical staff.
on the level of care including Emergency Services.
The high cost and lower volumes of certain highly
Inpatient and emergency procedures are ordered
specialized technologies, the highly specialized
by physicians as required on a need basis twenty-
space criteria dictated by permanently installed
four hours a day.
equipment,
and
the
specialized
staffing
requirements, demands that some modalities be
Remote services may require storage for mobile
centralized at a location accessible to both
equipment located within the department or within
inpatients and outpatients.
the unit served.
Consolidation of services by specialization and
centers of excellence may improve the quality of
patient care, particularly when intervention is
required at higher acuity levels including surgical
procedures or intensive care patients.
VA DESIGN GUIDE
RADIOLOGY SERVICE
PAGE 2 -3
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