POCUS Problems: Why Is POCUS Important?

According to one study, about 78% of surveyed pregnant mothers had an ultrasound.

While pregnant mothers might normally get them, many people can have an ultrasound to diagnose all kinds of things, and many of them use a point of care ultrasound (POCUS).

But what is POCUS? And what are the benefits of it? Keep reading to find out!

What is POCUS?

POCUS is a portable ultrasound system. This will let doctors diagnose and assess patients without having to have them go down to a radiology department.

That means it can be used in an emergency care unit, an ambulance, at a bedside, or anywhere else where you can plug in the equipment. This makes it great for diagnosing patients who can’t get to an ultrasound machine.

Many doctors now use a POC ultrasound because it has scoped capabilities and will help doctors provide a more accurate diagnosis.

That way, you can have results right when you go rather than having to wait a few more days to figure out what is wrong.

Bedside vs POCUS Ultrasound

There are two main types of ultrasound: a POC and a bedside. While these terms are sometimes used to mean the same thing, there is a small difference.

A bedside ultrasound is an older term that refers to the ultrasound that most people might think about. These are normally found in a medical facility, and the equipment is located right by the bedside.

However, a POC ultrasound is a broader time. It doesn’t have to be used by a patient’s bedside because it’s actually more portable.

Uses

You can actually use ultrasound imaging to diagnose, evaluate, and even treat all kinds of medical conditions.

Abdominal ultrasounds, for example, can help you see if there are any issues in your organs or abdominal tissues. Bone sonometry ultrasounds can also help you see how fragile or strong your bones are.

Many women also get breast ultrasounds to see if there are any issues with their breast tissue, which can help to catch breast cancer. A doppler ultrasounds can help you see blood flowing through your organs and vessels to see if there are any blockages.

An echocardiogram can help doctors see your heart. The most common ultrasound is a fetal ultrasound which can help you see the fetus during pregnancy and detect what the gender is and if there are any issues.

However, the POCUS can be used in emergency situations, like for trauma, shock, dyspnea, or even cardiac arrest.

Benefits

While some doctors might prefer to do a more conventional examination, there are all kinds of benefits to using the POC ultrasound. In fact, many healthcare professionals who use this system in their practice have more accurate diagnoses and feel empowered and confident when diagnosing their patients.

If you don’t think that you have room for an ultrasound system in your practice, you can even get a smaller, handheld device. These are often cheaper as well.

Safe

One of the main benefits of this type of ultrasound is that it’s safe because it’s non-invasive. There is no risk of radiation, which is perfect for pregnant mothers or trauma patients.

Because of this, you can either use it for healthy, stable patients or patients who are in an emergency.

Easy to Learn

While an actual ultrasound system might be difficult to learn and get trained on, the POC ultrasound is actually very easy to learn. You don’t need a lot of time to learn how to use it.

In fact, you can even use it yourself and learn how to interpret the results. That way, you won’t have to send your patients to another clinic where someone who is trained in ultrasounds can operate a bigger machine.

Quick Results

Speaking of waiting for results, the process is very streamlined. The process of giving the ultrasound will only last a few minutes.

That way, you can give your patient results in just a few minutes, and you can also use it to inform your diagnosis right there during their initial appointment.

You can even click on this link to find more info about how it will benefit your patient.

Portable

POCUS is also great because of its portability. If your patient is too sick or injured to move to a different department or facility, you can address the problems right there.

This reduces the risk of the patient and also the healthcare staff. If the patient is sick with something contagious, you reduce the risk of other healthcare workers possibly becoming infected.

Because it’s portable, it can also be great during disaster management. This way, healthcare workers can get a really good and precise idea about what triage to give their patients. They’ll also have a better idea of what kind of condition the patient is in.

These can be especially useful during a pandemic or for treating a lot of patients who were all injured in the same disaster.

Remote Capabilities

These POCUS machines transmit images using satellite and wireless transmission. Because of this, you can interpret the images over telemedicine apps.

That means you don’t need to consult a radiologist, which can give you results faster.

Learn More About POCUS

These are only a few things to know about POCUS, but there are many more factors to consider.

We know that getting an ultrasound can be overwhelming at first, but we’re here to help you out.

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