[AVBC 2025] Streamlining Outpatient Care: Synchronizing CT Brain Scans and Neurosurgery Appointments
Care Process & Redesign
Appropriate & Value-based Care Conference
SingHealth
3 December 2025
The aim of the project was to decrease the percentage of patients with CT brain scans and neurosurgery appointments. This QI project successfully enhanced the scheduling process for CT brain scans and neurosurgery appointments, improving patient care.
Year Submitted: 2025
Published Date: 03 December 2025
Tags: Care Process ＆ Redesign, Quality Improvement, Workflow Redesign, Productivity, Cost Saving, Time Saving, Operational Management, Scheduling ＆ Planning
About this Content
Aims
The aim of the project was to decrease the percentage of patients with CT brain scans and neurosurgery appointments scheduled on different days from 100% to 50% within a six-month period.
Background
Neurosurgical patients often require caregiver assistance and face logistical challenges in attending multiple outpatient appointments. Traditionally in Singapore General Hospital (SGH), CT brain scans and neurosurgery consultations have been scheduled on separate days, leading to increased costs, potential delays in care, and inconvenience for patients and caregivers.
Methods
A multi-faceted intervention was implemented over 6 months from June to December 2024, including instructing clinicians to provide two potential clinic dates when requesting CT brain scans and requiring clinicians to explicitly indicate their clinic day when requesting CT brain scans. A 5 Why analysis was used to identify root causes. Data on appointment scheduling were collected pre- and post-intervention.
Results
Post-intervention, the percentage of patients with CT brain scans and neurosurgery appointments scheduled on different days was successfully reduced to 50%, indicating a statistically significant enhancement in scheduling efficiency. This intervention also resulted in a saving of approximately SGD 400 per bedridden patient.
Conclusion
This QI project successfully enhanced the scheduling process for CT brain scans and neurosurgery appointments, improving patient care, generating significant cost savings, and alleviating logistical burdens for patients and their caregivers.
Lessons Learnt
The project demonstrated that requiring clinicians to specify their clinic day when requesting CT brain scans effectively synchronized scheduling. This improvement translates into improved patient care by reducing logistical burdens, significant cost savings through reduced transport fees and caregiver time off, and streamlined processes via enhanced communication and collaboration.
Keywords
CT scans, Neurosurgery, Scheduling, Patient Care, Cost Savings
Innovators' Details
Innovators' Details
Healthcare Cluster(s) | SingHealth |
Organization(s) Involved | Singapore General Hospital |
Platform(s) | Appropriate & Value-based Care Conference |
Healthcare Professional Group(s) | Nursing |
Applicable Specialty or Discipline | Neurology |
Project Lead(s) | Jai Rao |
Project Member(s) | Cheok Poh Gek |
Connect with this contributor!
Jai Rao - jai.rao@singhealth.com.sg