Two scenarios
A hospitalist physician has admitted 12 patients on call at night and is trying to triage the last 4 that came to her service simultaneously. One of them is a 52 year old woman with the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. She is not hypoxic, and the physician wonders if she can administer subcutaneous low molecular-weight heparin instead of unfractionated heparin, thereby allowing her to be discharged home in the morning.
A family physician is in the midst of a workup of a 6 month-old infant with suspected failure-to-thrive. On his last visit with the child, her growth parameters have fallen below the 10th percentile on all measurements. In between visits, he wonders what appropriate, effective diagnostic approach he should initiate in this baby at her next visit in 5 days.