MRI SCANNER AT KOCHI GENERAL HOSPITAL ON SERVICE ROUND-THE-CLOCK

It is the use of tele-radiology that has helped the hospital in providing MRI reports on time.

An MRI scan costs Rs.1,850 here. In any other centre, MRI scans could cost anywhere around Rs. 7,000 and above.

Even with such competitive rates, the regional scanning centre at the General Hospital has been unable to serve more patients till recently owing to variety of reasons, delay in getting an appointment being the most prominent among them.

Not any more. It now functions 24 hours except on Sunday night, and all the delays in getting appointments and problems of getting reports have been put behind, said a medical official of the General Hospital. The change in timings that was introduced nearly a month ago, has brought down the backlog of appointments considerably, said the official.

It is the use of tele-radiology that has helped the hospital in providing MRI reports on time. As the two radiologists in the hospital find it difficult to write all the reports for the images generated in the radiology department that includes ultrasound scanners and CT scans, the General Hospital has tied up with two agencies outside to write the medical and technical reports as soon as they are uploaded into the network.

The number of technicians handling the machine was also increased to five from four and the system of functioning in shifts has been put in place.

There are at least 20 cases for the MRI scanner on a daily basis, up from an average of 16 earlier.