3 Things You Need to Know about Ultrasound

The popularity of Internet lists has grown exponentially over the past couple of years. Nowadays, there is a list for everything. From the “10 Best Restaurants in Your City” to “10 Things You Might Not Know about Superman,” lists seem to be taking over the web. So in the spirit of pop culture and the Internet’s obsession with lists, we have created a list of “3 Things You Need to Know about Ultrasound.”

KLAS recently spoke with 178 providers to ask for candid feedback on their ultrasound vendors. As providers face intense pressure to reduce costs and see more patients, ultrasound vendors have offered new tools to lighten the load. KLAS found that these tools are making a difference, for the most part.

1.  Workflow automation tools are delivering on the promise to save time. On average, providers reported saving 5–7 minutes per scan. The scans with which providers save the most time are abdominal, OB/GYN, vascular/echo, extremity, and breast scans.
2.  Providers are unsure about merit of new technology. Vendors have introduced technology to automatically measure and identify anatomy. A little over half of providers are interested in adopting the technology. However, the rest are not convinced it will save them time because they will still have to double-check the computer’s measurements.
3. Providers aren’t talking about just automation tools. Knobology and user interface, along with image manipulation, portability, and OB tools, are some of the other timesaving features providers mentioned in the study.

To see more information about the ultrasound market, along with vendor rankings and specific metrics, please see the full report—Ultrasound 2014: Saving Time and Money with Workflow Automation. Is there a fourth thing you think is a must know about ultrasound? Comment below and let us know.