Collaborative Efforts to Develop Medical Ultrasound Practice Guidelines

American medical societies have collaborated on a guideline that comprises indications for an ultrasound examination for a focused reproductive endocrinology and infertility scan. The guideline recommendations include (but are not limited) to monitoring of ovulation induction and stimulation.

The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM; Laurel, MD, USA) has collaborated on the development of the AIUM Practice Guideline for the Performance of a Focused Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Scan. The American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Society for Reproductive Medicine--Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses provided input to help bring this document to completion.

Collaboration between the organizations began at the AIUM’s 2010 Ultrasound Practice Forum: Point-of-Care Use of Ultrasound, held in Orlando (FL, USA) in November 2010. Joshua Copel, MD, who chaired the collaborative group, stated, “The AIUM has a long history of collaboration with sister medical organizations in developing practice guidelines. The AIUM’s philosophy is that the specialty of the physician doing an ultrasound examination should not matter--they should be done consistently and well by all practitioners. This guideline is another step in that direction. I am grateful to the volunteers from each of the collaborating organizations for the hard work they put into writing this guideline and to the leadership of those organizations for their support of the process.”

Related Links:
American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine