Inside the Beltway: The 114th Congress and Healthcare Policy
2015-03-05T08:00:00Inside the Beltway: The 114th Congress and Healthcare PolicyJill RathbunJill Rathbun of Galileo Consulting breaks down the new Congress and what they are facing in the first few weeks of the year. We anticipate, as usual, healthcare issues and policy to be at the front of the Federal agenda. Sonosite will run the series for our customers to stay informed on what is discussed and coming as well as our work in this area.Read article
The health care industry is increasingly facing payment pressures, especially from the shift to value-based medicine - high-quality care that is also cost effective.
2015-01-27T08:00:00Q&A with Jill RathbunGus IversenThe health care industry is increasingly facing payment pressures, especially from the shift to value-based medicine - high-quality care that is also cost effective.
In this Q&A article for DOTmed News, Jill Rathbun, Managing Partner at Galileo Consulting Group, in Arlington, VA, discusses the ever changing and complex topic of Medicare Payment Policy and what all health care executives need to be aware of in the coming months. An expert in health care policy and reimbursement, Ms. Rathbun explains and walks hospital executives…
Diagnostic Shoulder Ultrasound: The Results Are In
2015-03-06T08:00:00Diagnostic Shoulder Ultrasound: The Results Are InDon Buford, MDIn this article for Becker's Orthopedic Review, Dr. Don A. Buford explains both the clinical evidence and benefits for the use of diagnostic ultrasound for shoulder evaluation. In particular, evidence for the use of ultrasound as the first imaging study in cases of suspected rotator cuff tear. Dr. Buford, an orthopedic surgeon, also covers the benefits of ultrasound to patients, his clinical practice and the costs to the healthcare system. As the healthcare system moves toward both Appropriate Use Criteria for…
Why the ultrasound-guided approach to central vein catheterization is replacing the landmark method.
2014-05-15T04:00:00Safe and ultrasoundBy Nicole GraySince 1900, life expectancy has increased from less than 50 years to more than 80, thanks in part to remarkable improvements in medicine and healthcare delivery. Nonetheless, as renowned surgeon Atul Gawande once wrote, “We look for science to be an orderly field of knowledge and procedure, but it is not. It is an imperfect science, an enterprise of constantly changing knowledge, fallible individuals and, at the same time, lives on the line.”Read article
Welcome to the CMO Corner
As an emergency physician, I have taken care of thousands of patients who have benefitted from bedside ultrasound and I consider it to be an indispensible tool.
Many across the medical profession share the same view. In fact, the value of ultrasound is of such importance that the sheer volume of published information is overwhelming.
That’s why we’ve created CMO Corner. It is meant distill relevant information about portable ultrasound so you can access it without spending hours…
Improving Care while Reducing Costs in Health Care
Would you let your family fly in an airplane at night if the pilot didn’t have radar? I certainly wouldn’t. That pilot would be flying blind. It’s the same for ultrasound. When a physician performs an invasive procure without ultrasound guidance, it’s akin to a flying blind. In one of my recent articles, “Ultrasound Guidance at the Point of Care: This Practice Lets Health Systems and Accountable Care Organizations Improve Patient Safety and Costs,” published in Executive Insight, I argue that health executives should carefully weigh the safety, efficiency, and potential for reducing (or…
Training Standards for Critical Care Ultrasonography
Ultrasound within critical care is growing rapidly and has a large role for multiple diagnostic applications and for guidance of invasive procedures. A recent international roundtable, composed of 29 experts from five continents, just published recommendations on the need for developing training standards for intensive care medical students. Twelve Critical Care societies from around the world have endorsed the framework. They state, “There was 100% agreement among participants that general critical care ultrasound and ‘basic’ critical care echocardiography should be mandatory in the…
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Judith Anderson
On the use of Sonosite ultrasound in Goma
HEAL Africa acquired a Sonosite ultrasound system through the SoundCaring program to serve a hospital treating patients in a war zone. It is housed in the maternity ward but is often used in the Emergency Room.
The very large ultrasound machine at the hospital has been most often out of service due to technical issues since it arrived. HEAL Africa now has a functioning ultrasound machine 24/7! It has been a huge help in diagnosing life-threatening situations. Dr. Christophe Kimona, General Surgeon and Chief of Staff…
Haiti
Sachita Shah, MD, Emergency Medicine
in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake
Day 1 - Entering Haiti, January 27, 2010
When we flew in on Jan 16th to Port-au-Prince, the destruction was evident in many areas. The hardest hit included Carre Four with crumpled houses, which we could see from the plane. The airport was a military zone, and the UN compound had been crushed, with many armed UN and US military throughout the nearby area and various aid groups scrambling about. We were driven by Zanmi Lasante vehicles to several points, only to find the meeting places structurally questionable, finally…
Rwanda
Steven C. Hall, MD, Anesthesiologist
Discusses use to Sonosite ultrasound during a medical mission to Gitwe, Rwanda
Medical Missions for Children is one of the largest nonprofit groups in the United States that provides surgical care for children and adults in some of the poorest and most underserved areas of the world. This is the fourth time a team went to Gitwe, Rwanda, to provide two weeks of free care. The team consisted of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses from around the U.S. Several of us had been there before. Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa and one…
India and Morocco
Phil Arnold, MD
On the use of Sonosite ultrasound for paediatric cardiac anaesthesia in developing nations
Congenital heart disease is one of the most common forms of birth defect, affecting about one in 145 births in the UK or 4,600 babies every year1. About a third of these patients will require surgery, often early in life. Once performed, surgery can be effectively curative in many cases, the majority of these children will not require further surgery and be off all medications within a short period. Some children with more complex conditions will require medical…
Sierra Leone
Scott Farmery, MD Consultant Anaesthetist
at Makeni Hospital, Sierra Leone
Two weeks ago, an email dropped into my hospital inbox in London. It was clearly quite persuasive because, as a direct result, I’m now sitting in a remote hospital in Sierra Leone typing this. Today's star patient is three-year-old Abubakar who had the badly contracted burn scar on his hand released and grafted by Nanak, a plastic surgeon from Birmingham I'd never met before this trip. Abubakar slept comfortably through the whole procedure with some ketamine sedation and an ultrasound-guided arm block.
The email had…
Preventing Medical Catastrophes
Two exemplary Primary Care physicians are “uncovering serious abnormalities” that could not have been found through physical examination. In fact, these physicians found more than 50 cases of thyroid and other cancers. Read their article on the Imaging Economics website about how noninvasive screening at the point of care can help prevent medical catastrophes.
Training Standards for Critical Care Ultrasonography
Ultrasound within critical care is growing rapidly and has a large role for multiple diagnostic applications and for guidance of invasive procedures.
A recent international roundtable, composed of 29 experts from five continents, just published recommendations on the need for developing training standards for intensive care medical students. Twelve Critical Care societies from around the world have endorsed the framework. They state, “There was 100% agreement among participants that general critical care ultrasound and ‘basic’ critical care echocardiography should be mandatory in the…
Emergency Medicine in a War Zone
Sonosite is proud to acknowledge Dr. Todd Baker as a hero. He recently spent 15 months as chief of Emergency Medicine at the Army support hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. His small team worked 20-hour shifts, came under repeated rocket fire, and wore body armor while caring for patients. In the recent “Emergency Medicine in a War Zone” article published on www.acep.org, Dr. Baker recounts how a Sonosite ultrasound system was instrumental in helping save lives in a combat setting. Sonosite is honored to have played a part in his team’s heroic, life-saving service.
EAU Recommends Ultrasound First for Renal Stone Disease
I’ve seen many patients present to the E.D. in severe pain from kidney stones. Renal colic is a common and recurrent condition; it affects over a million people each year in the U.S. and accounts for approximately 1 percent of admissions.1
Diagnosing kidney stones in patients who present with renal colic is often performed with tomography (CT). In the past, Intravenous Urography (IVU) was used. While CT and IVU are accurate diagnostic tests and define clearly the size, shape, and position of uric acid stones, they also present a number of factors that would discourage use,…
This Fox Hunts with Ultrasound
New University | November 30, 2010
“This school year, UC Irvine has become one of the first medical schools in the nation to integrate portable ultrasound training into its curriculum.” Read full article
Medicine’s New Wave
ZotZine | November 2010
“On her first day as a UC Irvine medical student, Sarah Rooney received an Apple iPad." Read full article
New Ultrasound Technology Sharpens Needle Visibility
DotMed Business News | November 2010“Ultrasound is widely used to guide needles as they advance through tissue to their targets. Compared to traditional “blind” approaches based on anatomical landmarks, ultrasound guidance can greatly increase the success and safety of certain needle procedures.”
Sonosite Profits from Diversity
Seattle Post-Intelligencer | June 1, 2008
“For Sonosite, the new models — called the S-series — were a move to expand the market for its ultrasounds by focusing in on its strategy of targeting specialists, who are not regular users of the devices. It could also boost the firm’s profits, which in the past have not kept up with the company’s sales growth.” Read full article