The benefits of doing ultrasound exams in your office
Family medicine ultrasound is more accurate, more cost-effective, and less time-consuming than you might imagine. Here’s how it can improve your care.
Training: Cost and availability
Training in office-based ultrasound is available at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing medical education levels. Undergraduate bedside ultrasound education is evident in medical schools around the globe including in Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Germany, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom.3 In an American survey of family medicine residency programs published in 2015, only 2.2% reported an established ultrasound curriculum; however, 29% had started a program within the past year.38 In Canada, one- and 2-day bedside ultrasound courses are offered to family medicine residents at a number of universities. And continuing medical education (CME) courses in bedside ultrasound are available to physicians on a regular basis internationally.39 In North America, CME courses exist specifically for urban and rural family medicine clinicians,40-43 and offer training for a wide range of applications.
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Courses are often available for $1000 to $2000. Many of these courses run over a one- to 3-day period. Some provide a general overview of ultrasound for the primary care physician while others specialize in topics such as musculoskeletal uses, obstetric uses, or emergency department echocardiography.40-44
Challenges remain
More research is necessary to demonstrate that office-based ultrasound produces patient outcomes that are comparable to those resulting from hospital-based ultrasound. Also, bedside ultrasound is only as good as the operator who performs the examination,45 which highlights the importance of developing bedside ultrasound training programs tailored for FPs. National policies are essential for standardizing indications, training, and credentialing so that this effective tool can be used in a safe and effective manner.
CORRESPONDENCE
Peter Steinmetz, MD, CCFP, St. Mary’s Hospital, 3830 Ave Lacombe, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3T1M5; peter.steinmetz@mcgill.ca.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Assistant Professor Marion Dove, MD, CCFP, Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, for her suggestions and critical review of an earlier version of the manuscript. The term FAMUS is pending registration and is advertised with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (Steinmetz, Volume 63, Issue 3217).
