Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Computer Challenge to Physicians Reduces Waste

At the NPR News site, a story "Requiring Doctors To Justify Scans Reduces Waste" about a study in the June issue of Radiology in which doctors were required to log in to a computer to justify MRI scans when the computer determined, based on the specific patient's records, that the scan may not be diagnostically useful. How long until the machine issuing the challenge also takes into account whether the attending physician has a history of being more prone to go ahead and order the tests anyway?

No comments: