How primary care ultrasound differs from critical care ultrasound

As ultrasound becomes an increasingly common diagnostic tool for all areas of specialization, primary care is one of the fastest and steadiest-growing areas of application.¹ One of the main benefits of bringing ultrasound into general practitioners' (GPs') offices is that it can reduce the need for critical care ultrasound in emergency departments. 

Understanding the differences between critical care ultrasound and its primary care counterpart can help general practitioners (GPs), who are some of the most devoted adopters of primary care ultrasound, grow their practice, expand their scope of care, and help more patients. 

Defining critical care and primary care ultrasound 

The main distinctions between critical and primary care ultrasound are the environments and clinical contexts in which they are practiced. Primary care ultrasound involves bringing specific symptom-driven diagnoses to physicians, shared services providers, and other clinicians operating within the primary care landscape. Critical care ultrasound refers to scans for immediate patient-care decisions to evaluate an emergency medical condition, in settings such as an emergency department, ambulance, or for military personnel. 

Primary care physicians, however, are trained and expected to work in a variety of environments. These settings can include daytime clinics and private practices. Perhaps most importantly, they're trained to diagnose and treat both acute and chronic conditions, which ultrasound can effectively help with. Additionally, they are often the first clinician a patient sees when they have a medical concern. 

The approach of expanding ultrasound into primary care environments can have a game-changing impact on diagnosis and treatment decisions.³ Let's examine these potential benefits and how GPs can leverage them for growth. 

The primary difference: Benefits of expansion of ultrasound utilization into new environments 

When primary care organizations bring ultrasound into their scope of services, clinicians can use it alongside other diagnostic considerations to paint a more detailed picture of the etiology affecting the patient and determine the best course of treatment. Expanding ultrasound to primary care environments may also help to centralize diagnostic care and save patients valuable time when they face health issues for which waiting for referrals can hinder treatment. 

Research increasingly points to better health outcomes and patient satisfaction associated with ultrasound integration. One study indicates that patients overwhelmingly favored this transition into their diagnostic and treatment plans:³ 

• Over 98% reported they felt informed about the reason and purpose of their scan⁴ 

• Over 97% reported their doctor thoroughly explained their scan results⁴ 

Even more encouraging was the impact that primary care ultrasound had on patient reassurance and health outcomes: 

• Over 80% reported their scan provided them with a better understanding of their health problems⁴ 

• Over 65% reported their trust in the assessment of their health problems increased following their scan⁴ 

• Over 58% reported the use of ultrasound made them feel that they had been taken more seriously⁴ 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, over 80% of patients reported they believed ultrasound significantly influenced the care that they received at their GP's office. Overall, 95% of patients reported ultrasound improved the service at the GP's office, and it's not hard to see why. ⁴

Ultrasound in primary care has the power to provide additional context and care coordination between the patient and their GP. It's a game-changing tool that can also be helpful to strengthen established and long-standing patient-provider relationships. 

Primary growth: What clinical areas benefit most from in-office ultrasound? 

Ultrasound has helped general practitioners expand into multiple areas of specialization, turning their private practices into centers of diagnostic reliability for abdominal care, musculoskeletal (MSK) medicine, breast imaging, OBGYN care, and more.⁵  

In MSK medicine, ultrasound can put the power of ultrasound-guided injections in the hands of general practitioners to improve continuity of care.⁶  

It can also help primary care physicians detect breast lesions, evaluate thyroid issues, and provide informed and personalized care in multiple other conditions. 

Barriers to expansion and continued integration 

Integrating ultrasound into primary care is not without its obstacles. Historically, learning curves and resource limitations have made it challenging to hit the ground running. Clinicians routinely report a lack of training, funding, and the ability to expand their staff have all prevented them from taking this next step to broaden their scope of care and improve their treatment offerings.⁷ 

These obstacles can be—and are being—overcome by choosing systems that offer more intuitive features for new users and more comprehensive training, support, and education included in the purchase agreement. Ultrasound systems for primary care use should also have a small footprint and be able to easily move to different environments, including small private practices, shared services centers, and more remote facilities. 

Flattening the learning curve through innovation 

The shift to ultrasound in primary care has been made possible by increasingly simple, user-friendly, and adaptable ultrasound systems. Increased portability and ease of use have allowed a growing number of general practitioners to integrate ultrasound into their practices. Condition-specific ultrasound software for breast, thyroid, abdomen, and other areas of the body allows for quicker and more affordable integration to accommodate these patient populations, eliminating the need to go to a specialized facility. 

Primary care ultrasound systems should offer scalability for easy expansion through probes and presets. Artificial intelligence-enabled tools and features help simplify everyday tasks like labeling, measuring and data collection to more easily bring primary care ultrasound to resource-limited environments with fewer personnel. 

Why ultrasound must expand into primary care 

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