Question: Will you take more radiographs if you buy a digital radiography machine?

Animal Insides surveyed 60 veterinary practices that made that digital transition. Participants were asked several questions. Two of these were:

• Are you taking more (billable) radiographs than before you made the switch to digital? (i.e. if you are taking more studies (for whatever reason) but not charging for them, that does not count). The following tutorial analyzes the response to this question:
   
• If you answered yes, how many more films are you taking? NOTE: I am not going to ask you for data from your practice management software, however, please do your best to approximate how many more films you are taking. Hard data from your practice management system would be ideal.

Survey sample pool: Survey participants volunteered to fill out the survey by responding to a request to fill out a survey in the Animal Insides newsletter or were identified by Dr. Matt Wright DVM DACVR by using the Insight Radiology Teleradiology service or Animal Insides Prepurchase Digital Radiography Consultation Service .  

Survey Participants: The following is a breakdown of the participants based on practice size:

• 1 doctor practice: 16.7%
• 2 doctor practice: 15%
• 3 doctor practice: 6.7%
• 4 doctor practice: 11.7%
• Greater than 5 doctor practice: 38.3%
• Total respondents: 60

 System Type: The following is a breakdown of the participants based on the type of digital radiography system purchased:

• CR: 25.4%
• DR: 71.1%
• Don’t Know: 3.4%
• Total Respondents: 59
• Number Skipped: 1

 Raw Data response to the question Are you taking more (billable) radiographs than before you made the switch to digital? (i.e. if you are taking more studies (for whatever reason) but not charging for them, that does not count):

• Yes: 61.4%
• No: 21.1%
• Don’t Know: 17.5%
• Total Respondents: 57
• Number Skipped: 3

Raw data response to the question If you answered yes, how many more films are you taking?

• 1-5%: 11.4%
• 5-10%: 8.63%
• 10-15%: 17.1%
• 20-25%: 42.9%
• Total Respondents: 35
• Number skipped: 25

 
Analysis:

1. The data from this survey clearly indicate that many veterinary practices will take more radiographs after they make the digital transition. 61% of the veterinarians responding to the survey take more films. If the “don’t know” answeres are deleted, 74.46% took more films.
   
   
2. It is also interesting to note that of the practice that took more films, 80% took greater than 10% more films and 42.9% took more than 20% more films.
   
   
3. Of the practice that did take more films, the following is a breakdown by the type of digital machine.
1. DR: 74.3%
2. Cr: 22.9%
3. Don’t Know: 2.9%

Someone with more statistics skills than I posses would need to run the numbers to determine if it any conclusion can be drawn to determine if CR or DR results in more films.  In my very basic and nonscientific assessment of the numbers there will be increased in the number of films taken whether CR or DR is implemented in a veterinary practice. It should be noted that there were fewer  total repondents with CR machines.

Conclusion: Based on this sample, if you purchase a digital radiography system,  it is likely that you will take more films. If you do take more films, it is likely that you will take significantly more.