While the most acute care will continue to take place in the hospital, health care is expanding beyond the hospital walls and moving towards outpatient as opposed to inpatient care. Ultrasound is there, too.
And it is becoming more accessible to a wide range of healthcare providers. A paramedic, for instance, can use handheld ultrasound under the supervision of a doctor to quickly assess a critically ill patient and send images to the hospital via the cloud. By the time they arrive to the hospital, the medical team has the clinical images, and the paramedic can provide critical information to help determine the necessary course of action. In a helicopter’s noisy environment, it is difficult to hear a heartbeat with a stethoscope, but ultrasound can be used to see under the skin and evaluate the heart. And in the field of sports medicine, a doctor can quickly examine a player’s joints to see if further treatment is necessary.
What’s more, ultrasound devices are emerging early in a doctor’s training and are even a growing part of medical school curriculums. Clinical support applications enabled by artificial intelligence may shorten the learning curve, but training will continue to be critical to correctly use the device and obtain accurate clinical information. By getting hands-on experience and exposure to ultrasound’s various applications from OB/GYN and MSK to internal medicine, the next generation of doctors may find themselves reaching for ultrasound just as often as they grab a stethoscope.
About the author: Rob Walton is the global general manager of primary & affordable care for GE Healthcare.Back to HCB News
