Related ArticlesAssessment of the appropriateness of requested radiological examinations for outpatients and the potential financial consequences of guideline application.

JBR-BTR. 2006 Jan-Feb;89(1):8-11

Authors: Van Breuseghem I, Geusens E

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether requested radiological examinations for referred outpatients are in concordance with the guidelines as proposed by the consilium radiologicum. A second purpose was to evaluate the financial effect of strict guideline application. The radiological requests for 1000 referrals were evaluated by 2 radiologists. A consensus score of 74.4% guideline conformity was reached. A mean save of 9.5 Euro per patient was calculated after strict guideline application. It is concluded that guidelines are a valuable tool for patient management in referring for radiological examinations and have a substantial effect on the available budget. Further improvements and fine-tuning of the guidelines are mandatory to increase their validity.

PMID: 16607870 [PubMed - in process]

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