Noncardiac Ultrasound Used Primarily by Radiologists

Although nonradiologist physicians have contributed to the widespread use of point-of-care (POC) ultrasound, radiologists remain the primary users, according to new data.

The results of the study were published in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. POC ultrasound is defined as an ultrasound performed and interpreted by the clinician at the bedside.

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Drs. Moore and Copel indicated that miniaturization and a decrease in costs have helped the growth of noncardiac POC ultrasound by clinicians and that the concept of an “ultrasound stethoscope” is rapidly moving from the speculative to a reality. “The commentary by Moore and Copel raises the question of how widespread the use of noncardiac ultrasound has become among nonradiologist physicians and how quickly such use is growing with the advent of hand-carried ultrasound devices. We used a nationwide database to investigate these questions,” said David C. Levin, MD, from Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA, USA), and lead author of the study.

To determine the rate of utilization of noncardiac ultrasound by radiologists and other specialists, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University looked at US Medicare Part B databases for 2004 to 2009. Between 2004 and 2009, there was a 21% increase in the overall utilization rate of noncardiac ultrasound. POC ultrasound by nonradiologists amounted to 41% of all studies conducted in 2009, whereas radiologists performed 55%. Many nonradiologic specialties are involved, but radiologists’ involvement is far higher than any other single specialty.

“The role of radiologists in noncardiac ultrasound remains quite strong; however progressive miniaturization of ultrasound equipment may change that. As a result, utilization trends will require further watching and additional research in the coming years,” concluded Dr. Levin.

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