How Ultrasound Can Expedite Diagnosis and Increase Quality of Care

Early detection has long been a diagnostic and outcomes difference-maker in the treatment and management of virtually all conditions, and ultrasound has played an important role in making this possible. Whether it’s diagnosing liver disease, assessing fetal viability, or a variety of other diagnostic applications, ultrasound has the power to expedite diagnosis, hasten the formation and execution of care plans, and improve patient outcomes in many different contexts.¹

One way that ultrasound can be even more valuable and accessible is by further integrating it into general practitioners’ (GPs) offices and other primary care environments. GP offices represent a kind of “base command” of healthcare engagement through which specialist referrals are often coordinated. However, GPs are increasingly opting to perform readily available or less complex scans themselves, enabling a more direct path to intervention, enrich the quality of physical exams, and providing extra context and insights for lab testing. GPs who endeavor to fold ultrasound into their practices² have increased opportunities to offer immediate, effective treatment planning right from their own offices; let’s discuss how.  

One-stop scanning and diagnosis  

As critical as they often are to receiving expert care, referrals to specialized ultrasound clinics can dramatically increase treatment delays due to the prolonged wait times for scan appointments^.6 By offering in-office ultrasound, GPs can, at the least, identify potentially problematic issues that warrant expedited specialized examination.  

While there are most assuredly limitations to what conditions GPs are trained and empowered to scan for, the right system can help them confidently perform abdominal scans as well as vascular, multi-organ, cardiac, and other ultrasound exams.  

Better patient compliance  

Bringing ultrasound under the diagnostic purview of GPs can also ensure that more patients receive exams. The unfortunate reality is that many patients do not use their GP-provided specialist referrals for a variety of reasons. Some may not think their condition is severe enough to warrant further examination; others may worry about the cost of a scan from a specialist; and others, particularly those in rural or lower-income communities, may face transportation and other logistical barriers that prevent them from getting their scan.  

These missed appointments can lead to the potential progression of time-sensitive and even life-threatening conditions that may mean the difference between positive and adverse outcomes. GPs who offer ultrasound in their offices can make the entire process easier, so patients follow through with their exams. 

Context and confidence  

GPs know their patients’ histories, co-occurring conditions, and overall health history better than a specialist who is scanning them for the first time and will likely never see them again. They can better “connect the dots” between patients’ past and present symptoms and their scan results to form a care plan more quickly and begin treatment immediately. This can reduce the fragmentation of treatment and expedite the formation of a care plan.  

Delays in communication between GPs and providers that would help illuminate symptoms and other salient patient data can lead to serious erosion in the quality of care. In-office primary care ultrasound reduces the need for an intermediary who is unfamiliar with the patient’s overall health and the factors that may have led to the scan results.  

The trust and education factor 

In addition to knowing more about their health histories and treatment concerns, most GPs also have a built-in level of trust ³ with their patients that can help them more easily engage and encourage further testing if they recommend it.  

At the same time that they’re providing a more direct avenue to scans, they can have the necessary, albeit sensitive, conversations about why they’re important, where ultrasound fits into their overall treatment approach, and how each result will inform their care plan going forward.  

Bringing as many elements of care as possible under one roof makes treatment more accessible, more convenient, and more effective for patients, and this is particularly true for the diagnosis stage.  

What’s stopping more GPs from providing in-house ultrasounds for their patients? 

Multiple barriers continue to make it difficult for GPs to fully and confidently leverage ultrasound in their practices. Among the most immediate are a need for more education and training, the real and perceived costs of ultrasound integration, a dearth of qualified personnel, and the steep learning curves that accompany many systems. GPs simply don’t believe they have the time or bandwidth to learn the functionality of a new device.  

One of the most pervasive barriers to successful ultrasound integration worldwide is the lack of trained providers to perform scans. Significant pain points can also be associated with the initial purchase, acquisition, and integration of a new system. The higher price tags, IT and infrastructure compatibility issues, large footprints, and complicated user interfaces of many systems have made ultrasound integration extremely difficult for smaller and lesser-resourced practices.  

How the right ultrasound system can help GPs expedite and improve care  

As valuable as putting an ultrasound in your practice can be to patient care and practice growth, it’s important to choose a system that checks all the boxes so it’s meeting your exact needs and immediate experience level. GPs need a high-quality yet affordable system that offers intuitive and user-friendly functionality to accommodate all proficiency levels.  

At the same time, the system they choose must have tools to fully optimize image clarity, make workflow more efficient, and offer the ability to scan for a wide array of conditions.  

Finally, it’s important that their system can accommodate their budget and offer comprehensive education and support for new users and those wanting to expand their experience.  

Simply put, the ideal ultrasound system for GPs is the one designed with their unique needs and challenges in mind. This means a system that is easy enough to learn and can be used right away so clinicians can immediately start performing more scans, treating more patients, and maximizing reimbursement opportunities.  

So, while ultrasound can help GPs take a more active role in diagnosis and expedite care planning and treatment, it matters what system you choose.  Explore Versana Ultrasound systems today to find the system that best suits your practice.

References  

1. Stanley, A., Wajanga, B. M. K., Jaka, H., Purcell, R., Byrne, L., Williams, F., Rypien, C., Sharpe, A., Laws, P., Faustine, L., Leeme, T., Mwabutwa, E., Peck, R., Stephens, M., & Kaminstein, D. (2016). The impact of Systematic Point-of-Care Ultrasound on management of patients in a Resource-Limited setting. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 96(2), 488–492. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.16-0201

2. Touhami, D., Merlo, C., Hohmann, J., & Essig, S. (2020). The use of ultrasound in primary care: longitudinal billing and cross-sectional survey study in Switzerland. BMC Family Practice, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-020-01209-7

3. Reynolds, K. A. (2021, May 25). Who do patients trust? MedicalEconomics. https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/who-do-patients-trust-#  

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