Unnecessary x-rays: occurrence, disadvantages and side effects

ABSTRACT

Unnecessary use of radiodiagnostic tests is a cause for worldwide concern. As much as 20-30% of x-rays in Britain, Cananda and America were proved unnecessary. These unnecessary x-rays are assumed to cause 250 cancer deaths yearly in Britain and cost millions of pounds. All rich nations have embarked on restricting non-selective use of radiologic services. In Saudi Arabia there was no study for the ordering behavior of physicians for radiodiagnostic tests. The free access to primary and tertiary health care and the demanding nature of our patients can lead to the indiscriminate use of radiology services. This article addresses the problem of overutilization of x-ray tests and emphasizes the need for a national policy to reduce the biologic hazards and initiate a cost effective use of radiologic services. According to our own estimate a few hundred million Riyals could be saved by stopping unnecessary x-ray examinations