The use of radiographic studies in a teaching hospital

A study was conducted on the use of radiographic studies by 138 medical residents. They ordered an initial chest film on 88% of their patients and averaged a 34% yield. Though the range of other radiographic studies ordered per patient varied by a factor of 15, more than half the resident physicians ordered an average of less than one for every two patients. These physicians experienced overall yields between 0 and 100%, with half the residents averaging between 33 and 57%. This data base was then used to derive empirical norms of radiographic study utilization that can be employed to evaluate physicians' utilization in providing care to comparable populations.