Empowering Physicians with POCUS
Dr. Vincent sees the next generation of physicians utilizing point-of-care ultrasound even more, and BMV couldn’t be more than excited to have him leading the way to help more clinicians adopt POCUS in their practice to improve patient outcomes. “I think once you give people—in any age group, with any skill set—the opportunity to do procedures with ultrasound, it just happens. They get it,” says Dr. Vincent. “I think this is something that every clinician can do comfortably and safely.”
Dr. Vincent works closely with a variety of physicians, from experienced attending physicians to fellows, residents, interns, and medical students. But no matter whom he works with in the medical community, he advocates for utilizing point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to deliver improved patient outcomes.
Growing with Point-of-Care Ultrasound
POCUS has advanced significantly since Dr. Vincent first started using ultrasound at the bedside. Many companies are working to improve the ultrasound systems; making the image quality better, smaller and more mobile. The expensive, cart-based ultrasound machines of decades past are evolving into handheld probes that physicians can always have, wherever they are located. This allows for ease of use in bedside imaging and improved patient care.
According to Dr. Vincent, the main drivers for portable point-of-care ultrasound originated from physicians, “The point-of-care market evolved because clinicians who were using it wanted companies to build systems around them. They changed the user interface. They made them smaller. They made it easier for us to use and they made it possible for us to go from patient to patient, rather than the patient coming to us.”
“The technology continues to improve rapidly because new physicians want portable ultrasound systems. Internal medicine is training healthcare professionals how to use ultrasound, as is hospitalist medicine and orthopedics — almost every field is now touching the imaging space and using ultrasound as a modality to improve patient care,” Dr. Vincent remarks.
The user experience of POCUS is also enticing to physicians, as it runs on familiar devices, such as a smartphone or tablet. But Dr. Vincent remarks that hurdles are still preventing widespread POCUS adoption. For too many hospitals, outdated workflow software hasn’t evolved in tangent with handheld POCUS devices, which makes performing and documenting an ultrasound exam at the bedside a convoluted process.
