An analysis of the types and numbers of x-ray films requested in the first year of a health centre x-ray unit showed that chest films represented the largest proportion of these. The unit is most valuable when it is inmediately available to the patient and general practitioner at the time of consultation, and thus it should be open for at least five sessions per week. The likely referral rate for the health centre x-ray unit is 84 patients per 1,000 at risk, and a unit functioning for five sessions a week can examine 60 patients during that time. This minimum of five sessions would be fully used by a population of 30,000 patients. The running costs were found to be about the same as those of a hospital x-ray unit.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.