The METIS project for generalist ultrasonography

Abstract

KEYWORDSPrimary-care group practice; Generalist ultrasonographer; Educational and training courses.Abstract Reorganization of the community healthcare system and the growing presence of group practices in the field of general medicine have increased the demands placed on primary-care medicine, in terms of the skills required and the level of responsibility. Satisfying the need for rapid, effective primary-care solutions to the health problems of citizens is easier thanks to technological and medical advances that provide high level equipment at costs within the reach of general practitioners (GPs). In the near future, trained GPs equipped with appropriate diagnostic scanners will be able to handle up to 40% of the requests of ultrasound examinations of each primary-care group (each PCG includes approximately 15,000e20,000 citizens). The Italian Federation of General Practitioners (Federazione Italiana dei Medici di Medicina Generale e FIMMG) and its Scientific Society, METIS, have organized national courses for those GPs who wish to become generalist ultrasonographers, in a joint effort with the two most important Italian scientific societies of imaging, the Italian Society of Ultrasonology in Medicine and Biology and the Italian Society of Medical Radiology.Sommario Vengono descritti i cambiamenti organizzativi che ha affrontato negli ultimi anni la Medicina Generale e il ruolo e le potenzialità che potrebbe avere l'ecografia negli studi dei Medici di Medicina Generale (MMG) migliorando l'iter diagnostico-terapeutico di molte patologie.Vengono analizzate la quantità, la distribuzione dell'offerta di ecografie sul territorio e l'appropriatezza della richiesta attuale.Viene presentato il progetto formativo Ecografia Generalista METIS e FIMMG e SIUMB il cui obiettivo è la formazione di Ecografisti Generalisti di supporto alla attività delle strutture territoriali di cure primarie (UMG, NCP case della Salute ecc.) e i risultati attesi dalla introduzione dell'ecografia. ª

Variation in the use of point-of-care ultrasound in general practice in various European countries. Results of a survey among experts

“…[1] Reports of the use of point-of-care ultrasound in a general practice context often involve only one or a few enthusiastic users. [2][3] A few papers describe a more general use or analyse organizational aspects, [4][5][6] e.g. what should a general practitioner (GP) learn to scan?…”

Ultrasound diagnosis in an urgent care setting: A service evaluation

“…Questions have been raised about quality control. Training and monitoring are required in order to maintain diagnostic accuracy (Bono & Campanini, 2007). The British Medical Ultrasound Society offers training and access to accredited courses for trainee and qualified GPs.…”

A critical evaluation in the delivery of the ultrasound practice: the point of view of the radiologist

“…8 However, the use of ultrasound by GPs in their clinic, even if in many ways commendable, has some limitations: for example, in everyday medicine, with respect to the complexity of the presentation of some diseases, often oligosymptomatic, sometimes witnessed by vague symptoms, nonspecific, ambiguous, misleading, not always attributable to a specific organ, how is it possible to limit or avoid the false negative in the ultrasound diagnostics? From an ethical and social perspective can we admit to skim over potential errors?…”