Who’s Doing Your Scan? The German Perspective on Ultrasound Services: Ultrasound is More Than a Technique, it’s a Medical Art

Reply to Dr Seitz

“…Thank you for this thought-provoking response to our editorial [1]. The editorial was intended as an overview of practice and to bring this to the attention of users of ultrasound, many who are not aware of practice in other countries [2].…”

High quality vascular ultrasound by non-physicians is established and effective: the UK perspective

“…We know that the continental European model is different from our own; there are historical and cultural differences for this including the way healthcare is provided and paid for. As Dr Seitz comments in his letter [5], there are benefits in having ultrasound as an integral part of the whole examination of the patient for the physician to better understand his or her patient and to aid communication with them. The advance of small point of care machines is increasing this in the UK although the availability of scanners outpaces a framework of training and audit for new practitioners.…”

Clinical elastography

“…The advantages of this model are: knowledge of clinical information by the physician performing the ultrasound examination; shorter period before diagnosis; less waiting time for the patient. Despite some contradictory discussions regarding this model between Anglo-Saxon/American model and German model countries [4,5], this is probably the direction of evolution of ultrasound in the future.Coming back to the title of the editorial: clinical elastography. What does this mean?…”