How to Start Your Own Ultrasound Service.

Ultrasound and echocardiography are great services to add to a budding medical facility. It is a popular add on and often the first imaging modality that the director of an up-and-coming clinic might wish to procure as it is usually the cheapest imaging modality to acquire and set up, and very little or no modifications of an existing patient examination room has to be made. And, of course, it is a highly useful diagnostic tool.

However, there are some regulations and requirements that should be considered in the establishment of an ultrasound service at your facility. Following are some of the main regulations enforced under the Health Facilities Licensing Act of Guyana. 

1.  An ultrasound facility must be directly supervised by medical practitioner. This should be interpreted to mean an appropriately qualified professional is responsible for the specific patient care issues and diagnostic quality of ultrasound which would by default be a Radiologist or Cardiologist in Guyana. 
2. A facility providing ultrasound services must keep official documentation of Standard Operating Procedures including all exams that are currently performed; imaging protocols for each exam and procedures for infection prevention control, equipment maintenance and storage/retrieval of patient images.  Imaging protocols should include not only names of organs but the required planes of imaging and labeling format. Infection prevention control should include handwashing, disinfection of beds and probes, changing of linens and COVID 19 protocols. For storage and retrieval of patient images, all anatomy reported should have corresponding high quality images stored and with the patient identifiers. All ultrasound machines are required locally and internationally to have local storage and DICOM compatibility to transmit data to a Picture Archiving and Communication System PACS or external storage.
3. Ultrasound rooms should have adequate space with furniture designed for operator ergonomics and patient safety. All ultrasound rooms are required to have a sink for handwashing and facility for patients to change in privacy such as a draw curtain.
4. Sonographers should be registered with the Allied Health Council of Guyana. If a doctor will be performing the ultrasounds, they should be of course licensed with the medical council of Guyana.
5. All ultrasound patient information, including patient images should be maintained for eight (8) years minimum. 

Of course, you will want to provide a service that is comparable to service in the developed world.    See publications from other countries below:

Canada

United States

United Kingdom

India

Buying an ultrasound machine 

When choosing an ultrasound machine for a clinic, it is important to consider the following factors:

1. The intended use or application of the ultrasound machine
2. The number of patients that will be seen
3. The required probes/transducers
4. Required features and software, and image quality
5. Portability of the machine
6. Dimensions and weight of the machine
7. Availability of after-sales support
8. Budget

Entry-level ultrasound machines are capable of handling all the basic requirements in the specialties but come at the lowest price. Mid-range ultrasound machines have more advanced features and better image quality than entry-level machines. High-end ultrasound machines have the most advanced features and software and offer the best image quality^{1   2}.

1. lbnmedical.com2. lbnmedical.com3. primedeq.com

Does using more expensive ultrasound machines lead to better patient care?

There is no direct correlation between the price of an ultrasound machine and patient care or outcomes. However, high-end ultrasound machines have the most advanced features and software and offer the best image quality^1 2.

1. clarius.com2. heartlandmedical.com3. verywellhealth.com4. fda.gov5. radiologyinfo.org6. uscultrasound.com7. aafp.org8. fastcompany.com9. theultrasoundjournal.springeropen.com10. fusfoundation.org11. handheldultrasound.gehealthcare.com12. compare.com13. theultrasoundjournal.springeropen.com14. prnewswire.com15. bmcrheumatol.biomedcentral.com

Now you can take the guess work out of setting up your own ultrasound facility! Good luck.