Analyze utilization overview data
Learn how to view analytics on your equipment utilization in the Utilization overview report.
The Utilization overview report provides detailed asset utilization information with interactive on-screen analysis for single or multiple equipment.
This utilization report is intended for Executive and Radiology users (Director of Radiology, Radiologists, and Technicians).
The information is this report is useful for identifying trends in patient and exam volumes over time, the types of exams performed, and personnel (referring physicians and equipment operators) involved, as well as comparing volumes to peer groups of healthcare facilities across your region. This report provides a convenient way of visualizing opportunities for utilization, throughput, and training enhancements for a specific item or groups of equipment.
Data definition
This tab contains the report title, modality of assets covered by the report, facility name, and the date the report was generated.
This tab contains the legal disclaimer governing usage of iCenter data provided in this report.
- It is associated to the currently selected Facility Groups
- It has transmitted utilization (IPM) data to iCenter in the last 48 months
- It has current coverage (active contract and/or warranty)
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| assets selected | The number of assets included in this report tab, based on the values in the selected filters (for details, see section Report filters). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| table | A Summary table that lists the following utilization data based on the values in the selected filters (for details, see section Report filters):
† Displayed if Compare to peer group selection is Yes. Delta shows the difference between the metric value for an asset in your facility and the metric value for similar assets in other facilities across the region:
Peer group comparisons are made for products of the same type across healthcare facilities in defined regions in which iCenter is deployed. For further details, see topic Identify iCenter regional availability. Peer group comparisons are based on:
Take, for example, a hospital in Canada (facility A) that wants to compare its CT's asset exam count against other hospitals in its region. In the USCAN region, peer group comparisons are across healthcare facilities in either the United States or Canada. In this example, peers in the Canada group are facility B, facility C, and facility D.
 Hover the mouse pointer over an individual peer group delta value to show how it compares to peer group facilities:<Equipment description> <Equipment ID> has <x> exams more/less than the peer group <y>  Hover the mouse pointer over an individual peer group value to show the number of facilities and assets that are considered in the bench-marking calculations:Calculated from <x> similar assets from <y> peer group facilities. |
Are my assets transmitting exams reliably? This tab provides data to enable you to see at a glance whether or not assets are transmitting data reliably.
This information provides you with an overview of any data connection issues preventing iCenter from receiving asset data for analysis.
| Data label | Data definition |
|---|---|
| Days with at least 1 exam transmission | A Bar chart that shows the total number of days for which the iCenter received exam data transmitted from specified equipment, based on the values in the selected filters (for details, see section Report filters). View the number to the right of a green block to see the total number of days. View the numbers along the bottom of the chart to see the total number of days in the selected period. Click a bar to highlight it in this chart and to display data only for that asset in Calendar view chart on the right. CTRL+click multiple bars to highlight and display only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. Hover the mouse pointer over an individual bar to display a tooltip providing details on the exam transmission (for details, see the iCenter data field reference):
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| Calendar view | Calendar heat map chart that uses color-coded blocks to indicate whether iCenter received any utilization data from that asset on a specific day, based on the values in the selected filters (for details, see section Report filters). The calendar is arranged from Monday-Sunday, so it is easy to view any weekend patterns. View the blocks to identify days that iCenter received equipment utilization data:
Click a block to highlight it in this chart and to display data only for that day in Days with at least 1 exam transmission chart on the left. CTRL+click multiple blocks to highlight and display only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. Hover the mouse pointer over an individual block to display a tooltip providing details on that activity (for details, see the iCenter data field reference):
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How well are my assets used?. This tab provides data to enable you to view patient volume, exam volume, and exam duration trends for a group of equipment over the specified period of time.
| Data label | Data definition |
|---|---|
| Assets | The total number of assets whose utilization is calculated over the period of time selected in a report. |
| Exams | The total number of exams performed on the specified equipment over the period of time selected in a report. |
| Patients | The total number of patients examined with the specified equipment over the period of time selected in a report. |
| Average utilization | The average utilization metrics with the specified equipment over the period of time selected in a report:
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| Exams | trend over selected period | A line chart that shows the total number of individual exams performed each week with the specified equipment over the period of time selected in a report. Click a line to highlight it in this chart. CTRL+click multiple lines to highlight them. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. Hover the mouse pointer over the intersection of an individual line and a given week to display a tooltip providing details on that exam's utilization (for details, see the iCenter data field reference): <Equipment description> <Equipment ID> performed <x> exams the week of <Month> <Day> |
| Patients | trend over selected period | A line chart that shows the total number of patients examined each week with the specified equipment over the period of time selected in a report. Click a line to highlight it in this chart. CTRL+click multiple lines to highlight them. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. Hover the mouse pointer over the intersection of an individual line and a given week to display a tooltip providing details on patient utilization (for details, see the iCenter data field reference): <Equipment description> <Equipment ID> was used with <x> patients the week of <Month> <Day>, <Year> |
| Cumulative exam duration (mins) | trend over selected period | A line chart that shows the total time (in minutes) that it took to complete all exams for the specified equipment over the period of time selected in a report. Duration is based on the time between the beginning of the first sequence and the end of the last sequence. Click a line to highlight it in this chart. CTRL+click multiple lines to highlight them. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. Hover the mouse pointer over the intersection of an individual line and a given week to display a tooltip providing details on the cumulative exam utilization (for details, see the iCenter data field reference): <Equipment description> <Equipment ID> performed <x> minutes of exams for the week of <Month> <Day>, <Year> |
Which operators have performed the most exams? This tab provides data to enable you to view the cumulative count of exams performed by technologists over the specified period of time as well as weekly trends.
This information provides you with an overview of the productivity of specific technologists, which you can use to acknowledge performance or identify additional training opportunities.
| Data label | Data definition |
|---|---|
| Exam count by operator | cumulative count over selected period | A Bar chart that shows the total number of exams performed by the specified operator, based on the values in the selected filters (for details, see section Report filters). View the number to the right of a bar to see the total number of exams that operator performed. Click a bar to highlight it in this chart and to display data only for that exam in the Trend chart below. CTRL+click multiple bars to highlight and display only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. |
| Trend | cumulative exam count per week | An Area chart that shows the breakdown of exams performed by the specified operator each week over the period of time selected in a report (for details, see section Report filters). View the trend of when operators performed exams each week across the selected period of time. Click a bar to highlight it in this chart and to display data only for that exam in the Exam count by operator chart above. CTRL+click multiple bars to highlight and display only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. Hover the mouse pointer over the intersection of an individual line and a given week to display a tooltip providing details on the operator (for details, see the iCenter data field reference): <x> exams for the week of <Month> <day>Highest for the week† † Displayed for the highest data point for a given week. |
Which physicians have ordered the most exams? This tab identifies the physicians who have ordered the most exams using the specified equipment.
This information provides you with an overview of referring physicians, which you can use to acknowledge referrals or to target increased referrals.
| Data label | Data definition |
|---|---|
| Exam count by referring physician | cumulative count over selected period | A Bar chart that shows the total number of exams referred by the specified physician, based on the values in the selected filters (for details, see section Report filters). View the number to the right of a bar to see the total number of exams ordered by that physician. Click a bar to highlight it in this chart and to display data only for that physician in the Trend chart below. CTRL+click multiple bars to highlight and display only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. |
| Trend | cumulative exams per week | An Area chart that shows the breakdown of exams ordered by the specified physician each week over the period of time selected in a report (for details, see section Report filters). View the trend of when physicians ordered exams each week across the selected period of time. Click a bar to highlight it in this chart and to display data only for that physician in the Exam count by referring physician chart above. CTRL+click multiple bars to highlight and display only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. Hover the mouse pointer over the intersection of an individual line and a given week to display a tooltip providing details on the physician (for details, see the iCenter data field reference): <x> exams for the week of <Month> <Day>Highest for the week† † Displayed for the highest data point for a given week. |
Which exam types are performed most frequently? This tab identifies the exams most frequently performed with the specified equipment and compares the cumulative and average time taken to complete to them.
This information provides an overview of which exams your department performs most frequently and those that take the most time to complete, so you can assess these for efficiency and effectiveness. For example, if the highest exam volume also has the highest average utilization time, this could indicate opportunities for optimizing utilization or productivity.
| Data label | Data definition |
|---|---|
| Exam counts by description | A Bar chart that shows the total number of exams performed, based on the values in the selected filters (for details, see section Report filters). View the number to the right of a bar to see the total number of exams for a given description. Click a bar to highlight it in this chart and to display data only for that exam in the Exam duration by description chart below. CTRL+click multiple bars to highlight and display only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. |
| Exam duration by description | cumulative and average exam duration | A pair of bar charts that show the time that it took to complete an exam with the specified equipment over the period of time selected in a report:
Duration is based on the time between the beginning of the first sequence and the end of the last sequence. Click a bar to highlight it in this chart and to display data only for that exam in the Exam counts by description chart above. CTRL+click multiple bars to highlight and display only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. |
How well are my assets utilized over the day? This tab identifies how well your equipment has been utilized at given times over the course of a specified week.
This information provides you with an overview of any patterns of distribution between exams, so you can investigate whether the gaps are intentional or indicate machine downtime, scheduling, issues, or staffing issues.
| Data label | Data definition |
|---|---|
| Select an asset / Select week beginning | From the Select an asset drop-down list select the asset whose utilization you want to analyze. In the displayed Select week beginning control, select the week whose data you want to view (for details, see section Report filters). A Scatter plot chart that uses color-coded blocks to indicate the times of day that exams were performed on the selected equipment during the selected week. View the distribution of blocks across the range of time the equipment was used during the day to identify when exams were performed or where there are large gaps between exams. The size of a block is proportional to the amount of time spent on an exam. This information can help you identify which shifts perform the most exams with the equipment during given periods of time, so you can consider how to optimize scheduling among available shifts. Click a block to highlight it in this chart and to display data only for that asset in the Exam detail and Series detail charts below. CTRL+click multiple bars to highlight and display only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. Hover the mouse pointer over an individual block to display a tooltip providing details on that exam (for details, see the iCenter data field reference): Exam for <Exam description> started <dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm:ss AM> and took <x> minutes |
| Exam detail | A Summary table that lists for the selected block of time the following utilization details(for details, see the iCenter data field reference):
Tip: You must click on a time block from the Select an asset chart above to display data in this section.
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| Series detail | A Scatter plot chart that uses color-coded blocks to provide details of series within the selected exam. View the distribution of blocks across the time range to determine if a specific exam series is taking roughly the same amount of time to perform, or if there are variations that you can analyze for opportunities to improve staffing or training. A bar above the chart shows the Exam Start time, Exam Duration (mins), and Exam End time for the overall exam. Exam duration (mins) is the total time to complete an exam from the beginning of the first series to the end of the last series. It is the total of Series scan time (mins) and Total gap time (mins). Click a block to highlight it in this chart . CTRL+click multiple blocks to highlight only their data. Click elsewhere in the chart to display all data again. Tip: You must click on a time block from the Select an asset chart above to display data in this section.
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This tab lists and defines terms used within this report. For further details of these and definitions of other terms, Consult the iCenter data dictionary
This tab lists the facilities whose data is included in this report in a printable format.
This tab lists the equipment operators whose data is included in this report in a printable format. iCenter displays the Operator names as it was transmitted by the asset.
This tab lists the referring physicians whose data is included in this report in a printable format. iCenter displays the Physician names as it was transmitted by the asset.
This tab lists the exam types performed with the equipment whose data is included in this report in a printable format. iCenter displays the Exam names as it was transmitted by the asset.
Report filters
This section lists the filters you can specify to determine the data displayed in this generated report. For instructions on how to apply report filters, see topic Generate utilization reports.
| Filter name | Description | Displayed in tab |
|---|---|---|
| between y and z | Click in the following fields to set the time range for data to be displayed in this report tab:
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Series |
| By avg exam duration (mins) | Click the drop-down list and select this option to sort the chart by the average time (in minutes) it took to complete an exam. |
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| By days | Click the drop-down list and select this option to sort the chart by the number of days when at least one exam was transmitted from the asset to iCenter |
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| By exam count | Click the drop-down list and select this option to sort the chart by the number of exams performed |
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| By name | Click the drop-down list and select this option to sort the chart by the name of exams in data that was transmitted from the asset to iCenter |
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| By utilization (hrs) | Click the drop-down list and select this option to sort the chart by the number of hours it took to complete an exam. |
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| Click asset to view transmission days on calendar | Click the drop-down list and then select assets whose data is to be included in this report tab:
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| Compare to peer group |
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| Filter by facility | Click the drop-down list and select facilities whose data is to be included in this report tab:
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| Filter by asset description | Click the drop-down list and select the assets from the specified facilities whose data is to be included in this report tab:
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| Focus on specific assets? |
View this icon below the chart to determine the current sort order of the chart. Click it to toggle between ascending and descending:
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| Select an asset | Click the drop-down list and select a single asset whose data to display in this report tab. | Series |
| Select assets | Click one or more Equipment ID check boxes to display data only for the selected equipment in this report tab. | Trends |
| Select week beginning | Click the week whose data you want to view. Weeks are arranged in Year | Month | Week order, from current week at the top, descending to earlier weeks. Week blocks are color coded:
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Series |
| Start / End | Change the calendar dates to select the desired time span of data to include in all tabs of this report (except Series). |
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| View data | Click this link to navigate to an associated appendix tab that contains all chart entries in printable format. |
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: Current sort order ascending 
: Current sort order descendingFAQs
Can I expand the display size of the report, so I can see more of the data on a page?
Click the Full Screen button at the top right of the report to display it at the full size of your computer monitor. Press Esc to exit Full screen mode.
Can I print this report or share it outside of iCenter?
Click the Download button at the top right of the report to save it to your computer as an image or a PDF file, which you can then print or share. For details, see topic Download a generated report.
Are my generated report settings saved if I mark the report as a favorite?
- You can Save a custom report if you want to view the report with these settings again. You can mark the report as a favorite if you want to create a home page tile for it. CAUTION:Any filters you applied to report are not saved when you mark a report as a favorite.
Why is the report missing some patient exam data entered in my MR unit?
- If you are using an MR unit on software version 24 or earlier, if special characters were entered in patient exam fields some data may have been missed during the IPM data sweep, resulting in an incomplete data set being transmitted from the MR unit to iCenter. This includes entering these special characters (“ ‘ < > = & ~) in fields such as Exam description, Hospital name, Patient name, and Series description and the Carriage return (Enter) and New line feed (SHIFT+Enter) characters in the Patient history field. For further details, see the Operator Note: iCenter utilization reports for MR units on version 24 or earlier [download PDF] or contact GE Support.
Where can I find out more information about using this report?
- For more information on how to make best use of this report, including annotated illustrations of report features, tips on filtering and analyzing data, and more detailed descriptions of peer group calculations, see the iCenter Feature Focus: Utilization overview report [download PDF].