It may be an exaggeration to suggest that every other month a new guideline or requirement is released by a professional medical body recommending or directing that ultrasound—especially bedside (a.k.a., point-of-care) ultrasound—be incorporated into clinical best practices, but often it feels like it.
Case in point: In my last CMO Corner, I commented on the AIUM recognizing the American College of Emergency Physician’s Policy Statement “Emergency Ultrasound Guidelines,” which acknowledged point-of-care ultrasound as part of emergency care’s best practices.
Not long ago, new ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine directed that instructors include the teaching of specific bedside ultrasound techniques to graduate students. (By the way, Sonosite is offering equipment and training to help educators meet the requirements that go into effect July 1, 2012.)
And now the latest in proliferating guidelines was just published in the March 2012 issue of Anesthesiology: the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Task Force’s “Practice Guidelines for Central Venous Access.”
The ASA Task Force guidelines recommend the real-time use of ultrasound for vessel localization, needle guidance, and verification of ultimate needle, wire, or catheter location. They cite significant research supporting the efficacy of dynamic ultrasound for these procedures.
The regular release of guidelines such as these are positive signs that the greater medical community is now recognizing at a much faster pace what many of us in ultrasound’s “trenches” have been advocating for years—that is, visual guidance of procedures is a best practice for quality care, safety, and cost. Simultaneously, they are serving as a loud “heads up” for concerned patients as well. I noted with interest ASA Task Force’s introduction to their report:
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“Practice Guidelines are systematically developed recommendations that assist the practitioner and patient in making decision about health care.”
Thus, as patients become more informed, we can expect they will first ask—and then demand—that recognized best practices, such as point-of-care ultrasound, be employed in their medical care.