Point-of-care ultrasound enhances early pregnancy care, cuts emergency visits by 81%, finds study

“Our study demonstrates that the use of point-of-care ultrasound provides meaningful benefit to the patients we serve by addressing early pregnancy problems at the time they are identified,” said Allison Newman, MD, an assistant professor at the U of M Medical School and family medicine physician with M Health Fairview. “POCUS in early pregnancy helps clinicians more efficiently and accurately diagnose problems without compromising the quality of needed first trimester assessments-saving time, money and stress for patients.”

The research team introduced this integrated approach at M Health Fairview Clinic - Bethesda in fall 2022, allowing the clinic to quickly identify high-risk cases and offer timely intervention for issues such as miscarriage or abnormal pregnancies. They found:

• The clinic saw an 81% reduction in emergency visits, urgent clinic appointments and first-trimester phone inquiries for non-miscarrying patients.
• Clinic implementation led to more timely diagnosis of abnormal pregnancies and improved education and support for all patients, including those who experience miscarriage.
• For miscarriage cases, the time from initial concern to diagnosis decreased from an average of 5.8 days to 1.7 days.

Reference:

Allison Newman and Mark Berg, Enhancing First Trimester Obstetrical Care: The Addition of Point-of-Care Ultrasound, The Annals of Family Medicine, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.3180.