Establishing a Point-of-Care Ultrasound Program: An Institutional Approach for Developing a Point-of-Care Ultrasound Program Infrastructure

Luyao Shen; Viveta E Lobo; Dorothy Cordova; David B Larson; Aya Kamaya

doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2023.10.026

Establishing a Point-of-Care Ultrasound Program: An Institutional Approach for Developing a Point-of-Care Ultrasound Program Infrastructure

J Am Coll Radiol. 2023 Nov 19:S1546-1440(23)00941-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2023.10.026. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Luyao Shen¹, Viveta E Lobo², Dorothy Cordova³, David B Larson⁴, Aya Kamaya⁵

Affiliations

¹ Codirector of Point-of-Care Ultrasound, Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California. Electronic address: lyshen@stanford.edu.
² Codirector of Point-of-Care Ultrasound, Department of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
³ Program Manager of Point-of-Care Ultrasound, Imaging Services, Stanford Health Care, Stanford, California.
⁴ Senior Vice Chair for Strategy and Clinical Operations, Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
⁵ Chief of Body Imaging, Director of Ultrasound, Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.

PMID: 37984768
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacr.2023.10.026

Abstract

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is rapidly accelerating in adoption and applications outside the traditional realm of diagnostic radiology departments. Although the use of this imaging technology in a distributed fashion has great potential, there are many associated challenges. To address these challenges, the authors developed an enterprise-wide POCUS program at their institution (Stanford Health Care). Here, the authors share their experience, the governance organization, and their approaches to device and information security, training, and quality assurance. The authors also share the basic principles they use to guide their approach to manage these challenges. Through their work, the authors have learned that a foundational framework of defining POCUS and the different levels of POCUS use and delineating program management elements are critical. The authors hope that their experience will be helpful to others who are also interested in POCUS or in the process of creating POCUS programs at their institutions. With a clearly established framework, patient safety and quality of care are improved for everyone.

Keywords: Point-of-care ultrasound; handheld ultrasound device; ultrasound.