Skip to main content
British Medical Journal logoLink to British Medical Journal
. 1980 Dec 13;281(6255):1610–1611. doi: 10.1136/bmj.281.6255.1610

An aid to reducing unnecessary investigations

D W Young
PMCID: PMC1715093  PMID: 7004561

Abstract

The number of investigations carried out on patients with the same condition varies greatly. The reason is largely inappropriate investigation. The known progressive increase in the use of laboratory facilities could be slowed down if unnecessary tests were eliminated. A computer-based medical information system, house officer information system, was used to eliminate the ordering of unnecessary tests. Analysis showed that patients cared for while the system was in operation were less likely to have unnecessary tests, which lead to a saving of £1.34 per patient in laboratory costs.

Full text

PDF
1610

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abrams M. E. Costs of tests. J R Coll Physicians Lond. 1979 Oct;13(4):217–218. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Ashley J. S., Pasker P., Beresford J. C. How much clinical investigation? Lancet. 1972 Apr 22;1(7756):890–892. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(72)90752-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hampton J. R., Harrison M. J., Mitchell J. R., Prichard J. S., Seymour C. Relative contributions of history-taking, physical examination, and laboratory investigation to diagnosis and management of medical outpatients. Br Med J. 1975 May 31;2(5969):486–489. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5969.486. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Young D. W. A problem orientated information system. Med Inform (Lond) 1978 Jun;3(2):105–111. doi: 10.3109/14639237809017752. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES