Emergency departments are commonly citied as increasing the cost of care. A recent article published in JAMA Internal Medicine analyzed procedures commonly used in the ED and determined five such procedures are particularly low-value. Reducing or avoiding these procedures in EDs could save money without affecting quality of care, according to the article.
To determine the value of each procedure, researchers created a master list of procedures cross-referenced with cost, clinician actionability and patient benefit. According to the analysis, ED clinicians should not:
- Order CT scans for pulmonary embolism diagnosis until after the patient has been identified as high-risk for the condition.
- Order cervical spine CT scans trauma patients who do not also meet high-risk criteria.
- Order CT scans of patients with mild traumatic head injuries who do not also meet high-risk criteria.
- Conduct MRIs on spines of patients with lower back pain who do not also meet high-risk criteria.
- Order anticoagulation studies for patients who do not suffer from hemorrhaging or a potential clotting disorder.
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