The Yield of Chest Radiography in Febrile and Neutropenic Patients

Excerpt

Due to the effects of payment based on diagnosis-related groups, the cost of inpatient care is being carefully scrutinized. Auxiliary services such as those provided by radiology and pathology departments are areas where over-use of services may go beyond reimbursable costs and therefore be a source of financial loss for the hospital. Although there is need for reduced use of services, it must be done without compromising patient care. Other authors have begun to evaluate the utility of some routine procedures such as admission chest roentgenograms ( 1 ), electrocardiograms (2), and microbiologic surveillance in patients with cancer with fever