Scheduling Rule
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- Booking: The center does not mandate a strict limit on when scans can be booked relative to the scanning date. However, to foster cooperation and consideration within the community, booked scan times are assumed to be filled (assigned a participant) promptly and booked on an as-needed basis. Scans that are booked in advance, above and beyond the current scheduling norms, will be reviewed by the CCN staff and potentially cancelled. Under current policy, the scheduling rules are as follows:
- No slot-holding allowed. You must have a confirmed participant for each scheduled scan, at the time of scheduling. You will be required to enter a Subject ID when you schedule a scan, to verify you have a participants lined up for the slot. Conduct the recruitment process accordingly--for example, have the calendar open as you discuss availability with your participant and only book time that they agree to. Do not book time days, weeks, or months ahead with the intention of finding participants to fill them later. We understand that it may feel safer to reserve slots in advance, but many projects are actively scanning at CCN, and it only takes a few instances of this behavior to throttle scan opportunities for everyone.
- Maximum of 3 scans per project, per week, during prime time (Mon-Fri, 8am - 6pm). This applies to every project unless you have made prior arrangements with CCN. There are no restrictions after hours (Mon-Fri, 6pm+; Weekends).
- Confirm with participants at least 5 days in advance of your scheduled scan. If your participant cannot commit to their participation 5 days out, please cancel your appointment so that other groups may be able to fill the time. After reviewing cancellation patterns, it is evident that sessions cancelled ~72 hours or less do not give adequate time for other groups to fill the space, and hours of otherwise-usable time go to waste. We understand that participants sometimes cancel last minute, no-show, or come in with unexpected safety concerns, but these occasions should be kept to an absolute minimum.
- Subject ID: As mentioned above, the system will require a Subject ID to book a scan. This ID will be whatever lab convention you are using for the participant who will be coming for that slot (e.g., "ProjectA_Sub01"--DO NOT use the subject's name or any other identifying information).
- Protocol ID: You will also be required to enter a Protocol ID at the time of booking. This is the code that identifies the scan protocol you will be running. It will have the format XXX-X.X and is built into every active protocol name. You can find it on your protocol PDF or on the console computer when you pull up your lab's projects. There is no way to access this information remotely otherwise, so make sure your scan team has made a note of each active project's Protocol ID. DO NOT enter IRB or other numbers in this field.
- Special Accommodations: Investigators whose experimental needs do not fit these guidelines (e.g., if the study requires participants to have multiple scans within a specific time window) are encouraged to contact our MR Technician and make other arrangements.
- Cancellations: Scans must be cancelled >72hrs prior to the scheduled time to avoid scan charge. Scans cancelled within 72hrs of the scheduled appointment will be charged 25% of the full scan fee. If a research group continually falls in the late cancellation range, CCN will ask for information to verify those slots were filled using appropriate scheduling practices. CCN may impose additional restrictions on scheduling (such as limiting the amount of scans that can be booked at one time) for groups that engage in profligate cancelling and/or reserving slots without confirmed participants. Each funded project starts with two free cancellations and accrues another after every 10 completed scans. Please fill out this scan cancellation form in order to inform CCN admin of issues leading to late (<72hr) cancellations. CCN has compiled a list of best practices and recommendations regarding how to mitigate late cancellations.