SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Impact of Internal Medicine Point-of-Care Ultrasound on Length of Stay, Costs, and Formal Imaging: A Propensity-Score Matched Prospective Cohort Study

Impact of Internal Medicine Point-of-Care Ultrasound on Length of Stay, Costs, and Formal Imaging: A Propensity-Score Matched Prospective Cohort Study

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This prospective cohort study evaluated the impact of inpatient point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in a large internal medicine teaching hospital over 48 months. Among 12,399 admissions, POCUS was “available” for 9,985 patients and not available for 2,414. Patients cared for when POCUS was available had lower total and daily hospital costs, lower radiology costs, and fewer chest radiographs, with a small increase in chest CT use. Formal ultrasound and echocardiography use did not differ significantly. Length of stay was slightly shorter in the POCUS-available group (5.77 vs. 6.08 days), but this difference was not statistically significant. Patient satisfaction scores showed non-significant improvement, and 30-day readmission and post-discharge ED visit rates were unchanged.<br /><br />A secondary analysis focused on actual POCUS use. Of patients with POCUS available, 994 received at least one exam, totaling 5,353 exams across 8,110 body areas. In propensity score-matched comparisons, patients who actually received POCUS had lower total hospital costs (15,082 vs. 15,746) and lower per-day costs (2,685 vs. 2,753) than patients for whom POCUS was available but not used.<br /><br />Overall, the study suggests that a well-trained internal medicine POCUS program can meaningfully reduce hospital and radiology costs and reduce chest X-ray use, likely reflecting better diagnostic efficiency and workflow. The authors note that cost savings may partly be influenced by shorter length of stay and other confounders, but the findings support real-world financial and systems-level benefits of POCUS implementation.

Asset Subtitle

Lynn Sipsey

Meta Tag

Author List Claire Smith, David M. Tierney, Kai Hanson, Lynn Sipsey, Robert Miner, Terry Rosborough

Category Research

Concept Point-of-Care Ultrasound

Concept Inpatient Internal Medicine

Concept Imaging Utilization

Concept Length of Stay

Concept Chest X-ray

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Abbott Northwestern Hospital

Presenting Author Lynn Sipsey

Track Value in Hospital Medicine

Keywords

point-of-care ultrasound

POCUS

inpatient care

internal medicine

hospital costs

radiology utilization

chest radiographs

length of stay

patient satisfaction

propensity score matching

Point-of-Care Ultrasound

Inpatient Internal Medicine

Imaging Utilization

Length of Stay

Chest X-ray