Radiologic consultation: its application to an acute care surgical ward.

Over an 8-month period, all requests for imaging tests on an acute care surgical ward were discussed and approved by a radiologist who made daily rounds with the surgical staff. Compared with an equivalent interval before the start of the consultation service, the number of sonograms, CT scans, scintigrams, and barium studies decreased significantly, while the number of endoscopic procedures remained constant. The average length of stay was shortened by 2.8 days during the experimental period.