Time to Get X-Ray Completed
Identifying Attributes
Care Settings
Hospital Care
Country
Canada
Publishing Organisation
Health Quality Council of Alberta
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Timeliness
Domain
Wait Times and System Planning / Access
Defining Attributes
Definition
Time from when an X-ray is ordered to when the X-ray is completed.
Numerator
(Test completion time) - (Imaging order time)
Denominator
Median and 90th percentile time in hours.
Exclusions
Patients are excluded if the time interval between when an imaging (X-ray) order is placed and when the test is completed is greater than 36 hours, either time stamp in the calculation is missing or a recognised data entry error occurred.
Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
None
Stratifications
By hospital and hospital type (large urban trauma, large urban, medium urban, children's).
Collection and Reporting Attributes
Type of Data Collection
Administrative data
Data Collection Methods
National Ambulatory Care Reporting System, provincial diagnostic imaging data sources (Millennium, Agfa, Meditech). (NACRS)
Frequency of Data Collection
Monthly
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
30
Reporting Methods
Interactive infographic: focus.hqca.ca/charts/time-to-get-x-ray-completed/
Reporting Frequency
Quarterly
Reporting Frequency in Days
91
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No
Source and Reference Attributes
Evidence Source
Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
Yes
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
02 December 2025
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Date Modified 02 December 2025