Faculty Collaboration Database

Motor vehicle crashes and seat belts: a study of emergency physician procedures, charges, and documentation. Ann Emerg Med 1994 Nov;24(5):857-60

Date

11/01/1994

Pubmed ID

7978558

DOI

10.1016/s0196-0644(94)70204-7

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0028116369 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   11 Citations

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To study emergency physician documentation of seat belt use, practice patterns, and charges for patients with different restraints involved in motor vehicle crashes.

DESIGN: Retrospective examination of 2,239 emergency department records during a 5-month period.

PARTICIPANTS: Patients from four community EDs and one Level I trauma center ED.

RESULTS: Documentation of seat belt use for motor vehicle crash occupants was reported in 70% of the ED records reviewed. Only 64.5% of the records from the four community hospital EDs recorded seat belt use, compared with 81.7% of the records from the trauma center ED (P < .001). The unbelted group had a greater mean number of physician procedures performed (1.4 versus 1.2; P < .001) and more radiographs of the face and skull ordered (11.9% versus 8%, P < .01). Seat belt users had a higher average number of cervical-spine radiographs ordered than did nonusers (71.5 versus 65.7; P < .05). Physician charges for unbelted patients were higher compared with those for belted patients, averaging $22.00 more per patient (P < .001).

CONCLUSION: Emergency physician practice patterns reflect the distribution of injuries associated with seat belt use and nonuse. Reduced physician charges for belted patients contributed to health care cost savings. Emergency physicians should be encouraged to consistently obtain and record whether an individual was wearing a seat belt during a motor vehicle crash.

Author List

Hargarten SW, Karlson T

Author

Stephen W. Hargarten MD, MPH Professor in the Emergency Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Accidents, Traffic
Cost Savings
Documentation
Emergency Medicine
Fees, Medical
Female
Humans
Male
Medical Records
Motorcycles
Practice Patterns, Physicians'
Retrospective Studies
Seat Belts
Wounds and Injuries