True, nobody does echocardiography like qualified echocardiographers, but when time is of the essence and immediate decisions on specific questions must be made, accurate information may not wait until the patient is processed by the entire food chain of the cardiac ultrasound supply line*. The discussion is multifaceted, and is fueled by paradigms and agendas of every sort and kind, from as many players.
We take a different approach: there are no secrets to either knowledge or skill; competence is derived through commitment, learning, practice, and time. And though we don't believe for a moment that 360-degree competence in echocardiography is achievable in your lifetime, we do believe you can start whenever you're ready.
Take a look at the latest frustration in bedside echo, posted by Mazen Kerallah at Red Apple Break (a Blog for all of us in healthcare): www.softmedicus.net/blog/?p=75.
We worked with the Phillips bedside echo system at Hewlett Packard before it debuted on the market over five years ago: it was at the time well engineered to deliver on the key elements necessary for targeted bedside decision making,and we're sure it's been improved even more since. The 20+% errors cited in this article are a snapshot in time of human performance at an undefined level of knowledge and experience.
Time will tell--bank on it--because this technology and the people who will use it aren't going away.
For this reason we've finally refined and released our hands-on training offerings for the Hospitalist and Emergency Physician in our 2008 schedule. In addition, we've made available the same program for onsite training for individuals or groups of any size.
*the order entry process time, stat waiting time, exam time, data transfer time, get-the-study-read-by-the-cardiologist-time, dictate-process-and-transmit-the-report-time
KM
