South Dakota medicine : the journal of the South Dakota State Medical Association
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Health care spending in the U.S. totaled $3 trillion in 2014 and continues to increase rapidly. Minimizing waste through clinical guidelines is a promising strategy to reduce spending without compromising patient care. In 2011, clinical guidelines recommended against the use of chest X-ray (CXR) for diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in pediatric ambulatory settings. However, use of CXR has not changed post-guideline. Thus, understanding the drivers of CXR utilization prior to guideline implementation could improve guideline adherence. ⋯ The research demonstrates a strong correlation between socioeconomic status of the pediatric patient and use of chest radiograph for CAP in the ED setting prior to 2011 guideline publication. Further research to determine the reason for this correlation could give rise to focused efforts to successfully encourage adherence to clinical practice guidelines.