You've tried fruit juice. You've tried powdered drink mixes. You've probably tried just about everything to make oral iodinated contrast easier to drink for your patients undergoing abdominopelvic CT imaging.
Then you tried Breeza®, the only flavored beverage made with a bitterness blocker to mask the bitter taste of Gastrografin or Gastroview. Patients didn't complain about the taste of the contrast as much when it was mixed with Breeza. They actually drank it - all of it - within your optimum time frame. Without dawdling or needing encouragement from your team. You were able to get the majority of patients to the scanner in under 2 hours for a change and stay on schedule.
But the price! How in the world can you justify recommending this product when your department is slashing budgets and juice or powdered drink mixes are only pennies per patient? Your patients love Breeza, your technologists love Breeza - but will your Purchasing Director or CFO?
John Cergnul, JD, CPA, professor and former radiology practice manager, recently published the paper "Cost/Volume/Profit Analysis on CT Patient Throughput when Substituting Breeza Flavored Beverage for Conventional Flavor Enhancers in the Administration of Oral Iodinated Contrast" that will help you determine Breeza's break-even point and additional contribution margins that may be realized by using Breeza with your oral contrast in place of grocery store drinks.
In Professor Cergnul's example, only 21 additional scans per year were needed to break-even with Breeza. His conclusion: "Despite an initial increase in variable cost associated with the use of Breeza, and the resultant, relatively minor, increase in break-even scans, the administrator can expect an increase in revenue due to the increase in patient throughput and reduction in backlog for prime scan slots."
What is your break-even point? And will it help you justify the purchase of a better product that aligns with your patient care initiatives?
click image to download paper
