If devolved facilities are used, processes may be streamlined

BMJ 1998;317:818 ( 19 September )

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If devolved facilities are used, processes may be streamlined

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ New healthcare technologies are often expensive. Maximising their use may become an objective in its own right, withthe equipment centralised and protected by a host department $---$ theradiology department in the case of magnetic resonance imaging,for example. The convenience of staff and patients takes secondplace.

The legacy of early, appropriate centralisation may persist long after the economic and technical arguments have lapsed asprices come down and reliability improves. The process of obtaininga plain chest x ray film through a centralised department mayinvolve up to 10 members of staff, use two hours of their time,and take patients off the ward for several hours.¹ If devolvedfacilities are used the process may be streamlined to involvejust two members of staff $---$ the requesting doctor and a radiographer²(although this does not include formal reporting of a film bya radiologist, which is often helpful . . . [Full text of this article]

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