GD to GP

[Sharpa Darka]

How many General Diagnosis offices do I need for every GP office. While I would like to know for any map, I'm stuck on Melt Downs, and I would like to optimize myself from failing.

[arottweiler]

Since unlocking the MEGA scanner I only use that and wards as diagnostic rooms and most patients who leave a GP office needing further diagnosis will go to a MEGA room if there is one. This can lead to long queues and the need for multiple MEGA rooms but it doesn't take long for the rooms to pay for themselves and make a profit. I try to just use wards and MEGA scanners and on some levels I've needed four MEGA scanner rooms next to each other because of the demand. The only aspect I don't like is that the MEGA scanners are manned by doctors but they still have to send the patient back to a GP office to give the final diagnoses. If patients could be sent straight to treatment from the MEGA rooms it would drastically ease the demand on GP offices.

[Freiya]

Originally posted by arottweiler:

If patients could be sent straight to treatment from the MEGA rooms it would drastically ease the demand on GP offices.

There is an option that allows patients to be sent directly to treatment when they reach the diagnosis threshold. For that you need to click on the dollar icon at the bottom left of the screen, go in the "Overview" menu and select the "Policy" tab. In this menu, activate "Fast-Track Treatment Decision".

[Tripas]

Remember that different diseases are easier to diagnose in different diagnosis rooms. So you should try to diversify with Cardiology, Fluid Analysis, etc. And only worry about building more of a given room when it starts having really long queues.

Also, remember that nurses/doctors with more training in diagnosis will also fill more of a patient's diagnosis bar, so don't skimp on that either.

[wicked lester]

I usually run 3 Psychiatric rooms, 1 Ward, 2 of each pure diagnostic room, and as many GPs as I need, usually 6-8.

[Sharpa Darka]

Sooo, General Diagnosis is useless?

[arottweiler]

Originally posted by MIKA ASOKOA:

Sooo, General Diagnosis is useless?

When the MEGA scanner becomes available I always install one of them as the first diagnostic room because most patients will happily go there and you earn a lot more than them going to a general diagnosis room. Just keep an eye out for patients with the icon above them that needs further diagnosis and add a GD room but they are more hassle than they are worth. Money earned from the MEGA scanner can keep your hospital afloat but can also put you in freefall when visits dry up.

[Sharpa Darka]

I see. Is there an optimal set for it, or it like pan lab, were it's as effective as it will get?

[Evilsod]

I'd advise reading Freiya's guide, aside from having some useful tips and information on the mechanics (the way the game calculates treatment success regarding staff/machine power is kind of annoying and counter-intuitive), it also has diagnosis tables for each disease/room (if you're curious), and breakdowns of how powerful each room generally is on a given level.

Generally, X-ray is a surprisingly good one, with Fluid and Mega right behind it, with DNA being good for 'late-game' illnesses. That said, the other rooms still have their uses.

Most importantly though, it looks into how GPs assign patients to Diagnosis rooms. Distance, queue length, etc. seem to factor into it, but the biggest influence is the LEVEL of the GP doctor, not the GP qualification (though you obviously want that as high as possible).
Lower level doctors will typically send patients to the most suitable room for their disease, but can select others. High level doctors will almost always send patients to the most suitable room, if your hospital has a Cardio and GD, that will include those when it needs to.

My hospital on the second level of Close Encounters currently has 2x X-Ray, 2x Mega, 2x Fluid, 2x DNA (1 diag, 1 treatment), 2x Psych (1 diag, 1 treatment), 1x Ward, 1x Cardio, 1x GD.

I built the Cardio, GD and diag Psych much later on (not enough diag staff, and I preferred a second X-Ray/Mega/Fluid as a priority), even with 100-150 patients in a wave creating a massive surge of patients, the GD, Cardio and Psych get a relatively small number of patients, and generally complete the diagnosis when they do.

[arottweiler]

Originally posted by Evilsod:

I'd advise reading Freiya's guide

Thanks for the tip and it's an excellent resource and something I will need to read a lot to absorb all the information. I'm close to getting to the final hospital and when I do instead of playing it I'm going to start again from scratch and learn from my mistakes. For a start I didn't make the most of research and marketing when it was available.

[OldGamer]

This is incredibly old but you may find a use for some tips. Mainly the game hasn't changed since launch in these terms.

You may want to check out some of my posts on in depth analysis on this:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/535930/discussions/0/1743355067102603544/#c1743355067113852613
https://steamcommunity.com/app/535930/discussions/0/1743355067107032474/#c1743355067107308638
https://steamcommunity.com/app/535930/discussions/0/1743356517524271908/#c1743356517526537940

Also there are wonderful playthroughs on youtube and guides on steam which help out a bunch. I watched YT Blara and Geekism the most at the beginning of the release (and prior) of the game. Plus reading through guides such as Frieya's Illnesses guide proved very helpful to me and is the basis of my help in the above links. Plus over 200 hours play :)

Frieya's Guide
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1519429114

Blara -
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmSsM7C3keqxyn1T56B0ioIg23V85RMyG

Geekism
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLak7UKfYySPGwn2tBrbiID0V7GYQvug7x

Quill18's
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs3acGYgI1-vJKq8MliYKsNs11V9q6f7Q

If you have further questions, just ask.
OG