Objectives To estimate the potential reduction in waiting times for patients resulting from triage nurse‐initiated X‐rays. To compare the pattern of X‐ray ordering by triage nurses and medical staff. To estimate the accuracy of triage nurse‐initiated X‐rays. Method Prospective, blinded descriptive/comparative study with nursing intervention on an ‘intention to treat’ basis. Results Triage nurse‐initiated X‐rays would have identified 96% of fractures. Nurses would have ordered fewer X‐rays than doctors with an efficiency rate (number of fractures/number of X‐rays) of 41% compared with 36% for doctors. A conservative estimate of the potential time saving for patients is an average of 46 minutes. Conclusion Triage nurse‐initiated X‐rays should result in reduced waiting times for patients and increased efficiency of medical staff. This study suggests that this procedure would be accurate and efficient.
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Kelly et al. (1995) studied this question.