Barriers and Facilitators to Point-of-Care Ultrasound Use in Rural Australia

Annie C. Arnold, Richard Fleet and David Lim ()
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Annie C. Arnold: College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia
Richard Fleet: Family and Emergency Medicine, Universite Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V0A6, Canada
David Lim: College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 10, 1-9

Abstract: This study explores the barriers and facilitators to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) use and adoption in rural healthcare since POCUS is a useful resource for rural clinicians to overcome the challenges associated with limited on-site clinical support, such as limited diagnostic imaging services and infrastructure. A qualitative descriptive study was employed, interviews with ten rural clinicians were conducted, and the data were analysed using the Walt and Gilson health policy framework to guide interpretation. Barriers include a lack of standardised training requirements, the cost of the devices and challenges recouping the costs of purchase and training, difficulty with the maintenance of skills, and a lack of an effective method to achieve quality assurance. Coupling POCUS with telemedicine could address the issues of the maintenance of skills and quality assurance to facilitate increased POCUS use, leading to positive patient safety and social and economic implications.

Keywords: diagnostic imaging; paediatric diagnostic imaging; patient transfers; point-of-care ultrasound; rural medicine; telemedicine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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