Implementation of Point‑of‑Care ultrasound examination in general practice.

Abstract

Point-of-Care ultrasonography (POCUS) is a method defined as a targeted ultrasound examination of patients with acute symptoms or syndromes that can be diagnosed by a healthcare worker at a site. The aim is to answer a specific diagnostic or therapeutic question or to ease the therapeutic procedure. Recently in Europe, there has been an increase in implementing POCUS in many medical fields including primary health care. The Czech Society of General Practice (SVL ČLS JEP) has for several years been watching the use of POCUS in primary care in many European countries. In August 2020, the committee of the Czech Society of General Practice charged the Working Group for ultrasound in primary care to start a project POCUS iGP - POCUS Implementation in General Practice aiming for the implementation of POCUS into daily practice in general medicine. An ultrasound device is required, as well as setting up the education and training courses with follow up courses and a consensual curriculum of skills, securing quality control mechanisms, proving with scientific evidence the reliability of POCUS when provided by GPs and setting up the final rules of competency and payment for performance. The current international trend of patient centred care in primary health settings and increasing competencies of GPs emphasises a need to implement new point of care diagnostic methods. One of which is point of care ultrasonography. Scientific outcomes and published data from primary care and other fields of medicine show that even doctors who do not work in radiology departments are after a relatively short course able to independently provide POCUS examinations with high reliability. Establishment of the Czech Multidisciplinary Task Force Group for standards, education and research in Pointof- Care ultrasound support development of the POCUS implementation.