Radiology Imaging Adds Time and Diagnostic Uncertainty when Point of Care Ultrasound Demonstrates Cholecystitis 

David Cannata, BS; Callista Love, BS; Pascale Carrel, BA; Trent She, MD; Seth Lotterman, MD; Felix Pacheco, MD; Meghan Kelly Herbst, MD – Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is specific for acute cholecystitis (AC), but surgeons request radiology imaging (RI) prior to admitting patients with POCUS-diagnosed AC. Objectives: We sought to determine the test characteristics of POCUS for AC when performed and billed by credentialed emergency physicians (EPs), the accuracy rate of RI when performed after POCUS, and the time added when RI is requested after POCUS demonstrates AC.

Association of Internal Medicine Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) with Length of Stay, Hospitalization Costs, and Formal Imaging: a Prospective Cohort Study

David M. Tierney; Terry K. Rosborough; Lynn M. Sipsey; Kai Hanson; Claire S. Smith; Lori L. Boland; Robert Miner – Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) use has rapidly expanded among internal medicine (IM) physicians in practice and residency training programs. Many benefits have been established; however, studies demonstrating the impact of POCUS on system metrics are few and mostly limited to the emergency department or intensive care setting. The study objective was to evaluate the impact of inpatient POCUS on patient outcomes and hospitalization metrics.