A permanent CT project can have more than one important date: construction completion, equipment installation, hospital review and the anticipated return of routine service. A temporary rental has its own planning dates. When those calendars move independently, a hospital may need to consider an extension before the permanent project's final status is known.
A rental-extension decision calendar brings those questions into one review. Its purpose is to identify when information and approvals are needed, not to predict completion or promise that an extension will be available. Use the actual agreement and written project correspondence for contract-specific dates and requirements.
Separate the forecast from the decision
Start with two records. The first is the hospital's current forecast for the permanent CT project, with the person responsible for confirming each milestone. The second is the rental decision record, maintained with the hospital's authorized purchasing or contract team and the provider. A forecast is an input to a decision; it is not an instruction to extend or end a rental.
Atlas's mobile CT installation guidance distinguishes equipment delivery from completion of the wider readiness work. Apply that distinction when discussing the permanent department as well: ask the responsible hospital teams which remaining reviews affect their expected service date. Do not substitute a construction update for their confirmation.
Work backward from the actual response date
Ask the contract owner to identify any applicable notice, response or authorization dates in the actual agreement. Record the relevant document and revision alongside each date. If the requirement is unclear, assign the question to the responsible reviewer instead of filling the calendar with an assumed standard notice period.
Then identify the internal steps needed before a response can be sent. Who supplies the updated project forecast? Who reviews the proposed period? Who can authorize the decision and communicate it to the provider? Put those steps in order, with an owner and an internal review date for each. Keep internal targets visibly distinct from dates established by an agreement.
Use a small decision register
A practical register can contain the following fields. Adapt the owner labels to the hospital's organization; no single department name establishes decision authority.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Current planning basis | The latest hospital forecast, source and date |
| Agreement reference | The document used to confirm applicable requirements |
| Decision needed | The specific question and proposed period for review |
| Information owner | Who will provide each missing answer |
| Internal review date | When the team will assess the available information |
| Authorized response owner | Who can communicate the approved decision |
| Written outcome | The confirmed response and any unresolved conditions |
Avoid a single status labeled "extension discussed." Use states that describe the actual position, such as information requested, under review, hospital decision approved or provider confirmation received. Record the date of each update so a later reviewer can see what was known when the decision was made.
Make uncertainty actionable
Consider an illustrative planning situation: construction has an updated target, but a hospital review date remains unconfirmed. The coordinator can record both facts, identify who owns the missing date and arrange the next review before the rental decision is due. The record should not turn the construction target into a confirmed clinical restart.
Ask the provider which details are needed to evaluate the hospital's request. Keep availability, proposed duration and any revised scope as open questions until the responsible parties confirm them. A planning article cannot establish an extension entitlement, price or standard term; those matters belong to the actual agreement and authorized reviewers.
Close the communication loop
Once the responsible parties have confirmed a decision, update the shared calendar and identify which teams need the approved information. Depending on the project, that may include radiology leadership, purchasing, facilities, IT, scheduling and the provider's project contact. Send only the information each team needs, without patient details.
AHRQ's TeamSTEPPS leadership guidance emphasizes assigning responsibilities, sharing information and communicating plan changes. Here, those principles support a simple check: has the person responsible for the next action acknowledged the current decision and its effective date?
Retain the decision history when the forecast changes again. A revised date should link back to the previous record rather than silently replacing it. Bring the current calendar to discussions with Atlas and the hospital's responsible teams so everyone can distinguish the latest forecast, the next review and the decisions that are actually confirmed.
