When You Need Speed
contributed by Anne Lacey
Falls during rehab. Slips in the shower. Accidents on the stairs. They don’t happen often, but when they do happen, you want them cared for rapidly.
The traditional care for suspected fractures – a trip to the x-ray via the emergency room – isn’t fast, efficient, or remotely painless. For the elderly or disabled, double the discomfort quotient. Even once the x-ray has been taken, there’s a delay while it develops and is read by a specialist.
Which is why long-term care, assisted living, and rehab facilities should consider a recent option: portable digital x-rays.
Portable – that means that instead of you going to the x-ray facility, the x-ray machine comes to you. Yup – the back of a van. As soon as the accident happens you call the portable x-ray service and they send someone over. No need to move patients with limited mobility and who are in pain. Keep them comfortable and rested while you wait.
Digital – that means no waiting for results. The x-ray is available immediately both for you and for the service’s experts back at the base. They’ll look at the x-ray in real time and give you their reading on the spot.
