Use of radiological facilities by general practitioners.

The 11,360 direct referrals to diagnostic radiological facilities by general practitioners in the Aberdeen area during 1973 were studied. These represented about 12% of the adult radiology performed in the main x-ray departments of the city, and barium meal examinations amounted to half of all such outpatient contrast examinations. Chest x-ray and barium meal examinations were the most frequently used procedures.Some abnormality was detected at 34% of all examinations, and the barium meal examinations requested by general practitioners showed a similar percentage of abnormal findings to those requested by Aberdeen hospital doctors.The average referral rate for all practices was 24.6 per 1,000 practice population per year. Singlehanded general practitioners referred fewer patients for diagnostic radiology than those working in group practices, and rural practitioners referred fewer than urban general practitioners. This trend was emphasized at a distance greater than 15 miles from the city.

Survey of alimentary radiology findings in the North-east of Scotland Region (1967-70).

This report describes a survey of all barium contrast radiological examinations carried out in the years 1967-70 by the unit that serves 99% of the adult population of North-east Scotland. The survey method used yields useful estimates, not otherwise available, of the occurrence of some forms of alimentary lesions within a whole community. Rates of occurrence by age and sex were recorded for all lesions. The data on peptic ulceration, were compared with those from South-east and from North England, and this showed that duodenal, but not gastric, ulceration is much commoner in North-east Scotland. Occurrence rates for most lesions have been nearly unchanged throughout the four years of survey. The data provide a measure of the work load for these radiological examinations for a given population.