Cost containment in emergency medicine.

High-cost laboratory tests, roentgenograms, medications, and supplies were the focus of a voluntary cost-containment effort initiated in a community hospital emergency department. The department microcomputer determined that 100 of 1,560 possible chargeable items were responsible for 90.9% of the total cost to patients. Emphasis on cost containment in general and specific emphasis on the 100 high-cost items resulted in a 10.2% reduction in laboratory and radiology charges and a 3.3% total savings to patients.