{"id":2378,"date":"2014-04-15T13:21:11","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T17:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/52.229.122.34\/en\/?p=2378"},"modified":"2017-04-03T11:52:27","modified_gmt":"2017-04-03T15:52:27","slug":"u-s-emergency-rooms-adopting-made-in-ottawa-diagnostic-procedures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/newsroom\/u-s-emergency-rooms-adopting-made-in-ottawa-diagnostic-procedures\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. emergency rooms adopting made-in-Ottawa diagnostic procedures"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 15, 2014 <\/strong>\u2014 Doctors in the United States are looking north for help determining when diagnostic tests are needed in hospital emergency rooms. A paper recently published in the prestigious JAMA Internal Medicine<\/a> features a list of the top five ways to reduce unnecessary procedures, three of which are based on work by physician-scientists at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute<\/a>, which is affiliated with the University of Ottawa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As in most developed countries, the cost of medical care in the U.S. \u2014 particularly in emergency departments \u2014 is growing at an alarming rate. Between 2003 and 2011, the average cost to treat a person in a U.S. emergency room rose 240%, to $1,354 from $560, according to a study by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It is estimated that diagnostic tests, treatments and hospitalizations ordered by emergency room doctors account for 10% of annual health care expenditures in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Physician-scientists at The Ottawa Hospital have gained a reputation for developing easy-to-follow clinical decision rules to determine whether diagnostic tests for particular ailments are needed. These rules, which have proven to be remarkably accurate, are now being recommended to U.S. emergency room doctors as a way to save time and money, and to spare patients from unnecessary and often uncomfortable diagnostic procedures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is wonderful to see that the rules developed right here in Ottawa are gaining traction in the United States and elsewhere in the world,\u201d said Dr. Duncan Stewart<\/a>, chief executive officer and scientific director at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, vice-president of research at The Ottawa Hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa. \u201cThat we developed three of the top five items on this list provides further evidence of the global impact of our research.\u201d<\/p>\n

The made-in-Canada clinical decision rules include:<\/p>\n