Implementation of Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) in Geisinger Health System.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Point-of-Care Diagnostics
• Health Systems Research

Background:

• Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) offers benefits like increased patient satisfaction, cost savings, and reduced diagnostic delays.
• The utilization of PoCUS for diagnostics and procedures has expanded across various medical specialties.
• PoCUS is a valuable bedside imaging technique gaining popularity in modern healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if increased implementation of PoCUS within the Geisinger Health System (GHS) can reduce the need for other imaging modalities.
• To quantify the potential substitution of traditional imaging techniques with PoCUS for specific pathologies.
• To assess the feasibility and advantages of expanding PoCUS use in a large health system.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of established PoCUS applications for pathologies like pneumonia, nephrolithiasis, and fractures.
• Utilized the SlicerDicer tool within the Epic system to quantify potentially replaceable diagnostic tests.
• Focused data collection on the number of CT, MRI, and X-ray studies that could be substituted by PoCUS.

Main Results:

• Over a five-year period (2019-2023), 121,057 imaging studies were identified where PoCUS could serve as an alternative.
• Chest X-rays represented the largest category of replaceable scans (61,684), followed by CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis (36,204).
• Significant potential exists for PoCUS to substitute conventional imaging, with 38,838 CT scans identified as replaceable.

Conclusions:

• The Geisinger Health System data indicates a substantial number of imaging scans could be replaced by PoCUS.
• Expanding PoCUS implementation offers advantages for both patients and healthcare providers.
• Recommendations include encouraging providers to integrate PoCUS into their clinical practice for improved efficiency and patient care.