Assignment:
A patient with suspected intestinal cancer shows up in the radiology department at 11:45 am, 2 hours before her scheduled appointment time. There are other tests she needs to undergo for the rest of the day at the same hospital.
Unfortunately, the specific room, Room A, scheduled for her half-hour procedure, is currently not available. However, there is an opening in this room for 12:30 pm. The only problem is that the radiology technologist has scheduled his lunch from 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm, but he has the option to perform the procedure right away in a different procedure room, Room B.
There is a difference in the equipment available in Rooms A and B. Room A has a highly sensitive imaging device, which allows taking radiographs at half the dose as would be necessary in Room B. However, the procedure is creating higher costs to the hospital, for which no additional reimbursement is provided.
Consider the following scenarios and comment on the immediate and larger implications of the respective choices.
1) In order to maintain highest customer satisfaction and keep the waiting time short, the technologist decides to take care of the patient right away and run the procedure in Room B.
2) Considering the implications of using Room A over Room B, the technologist decides to adjust his lunch break and perform the procedure in Room A at 12:30 pm.
3) The technologist decides to perform the procedure as originally schedule in Room A at 1:45 pm.
Please type your answers, double spaced, 200 to 300 words.