Effect of digital radiography on emergency department radiographic examinations.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the time-savings realized as a result of conversion from film-based radiography to digital radiography (DR) in emergency department patients receiving multiple radiographic examinations. We retrospectively reviewed the computer records of 69 patients from the preconversion group (January 2004) and 62 patients from the postconversion group (January 2005), calculated the mean examination time per image from each group, and used a one-tailed t test to compare the two means. The preconversion (a mix of screen-film and computed radiography) group had a mean examination time of 3.27+/-1.50 min per image. The postconversion (DR) group had a mean examination time of 2.51+/-1.16 min. The p value between the two means is 0.000822 with a standard error of 0.330 min. DR reduces radiographic examination time by 23% when compared to conventional screen-film radiography.