Rural healthcare patients already face limited access to imaging technology, but the situation worsens when tests fail to answer physicians’ questions. Research suggests roughly 1 in 12 noninvasive healthcare exams are inconclusive – often leading to more secondary tests, higher longer-term costs, and even more travel and complications for rural patients.1
These scenarios can be mitigated using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to generate images faster, evaluate their results, and run further scans when necessary – and this article explores how that works.
While 20% of Americans live in rural locations, only 9% of the country’s physicians serve those communities.2 Estimates suggest 80% of rural counties are “medically underserved,”34 driven by several key factors:
As a result, many patients struggle to access routine imaging technology. “In rural communities, folks don’t necessarily have access to state-of-the-art equipment—the CT scanners, MRIs—that you might need to diagnose certain things,” Dr. Suzanne Judd says.9 The results of this are clear: lower utilization of preventive care, higher levels of chronic disease, and higher mortality.10
But what happens when they do travel all that way to undergo a CT scan or X-ray – and the scans are inconclusive or of poor quality?
Patients are left waiting for answers and cannot access expedient follow-up appointments. Diagnosis is slowed, care is delayed, and outcomes suffer. Yet these structural issues are being addressed by a new generation of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) technology.
POCUS devices empower physicians to generate high-quality images in many areas of anatomy – helping to avoid more expensive and invasive techniques such as CT scans or X-rays. Proven to accelerate diagnosis and reduce wait times,11 POCUS provides vital support for monitoring ongoing conditions.
Better still, POCUS can dramatically reduce the need for unnecessary invasive procedures or follow-up scans. The speed and relatively low cost of POCUS scans mean images can be assessed quickly – and scans can be re-run if necessary to get the information needed.
This helps rural physicians:
But these benefits depend on the design of the POCUS device. For example, some systems still require cords, which can limit ease of use in certain settings—especially outside of a traditional clinic. Vave Health addresses this with a truly cordless experience designed for maximum flexibility.
Our POCUS devices are simple, portable, and affordable for rural physicians. Their cordless design and seamless integration with our digital platform enable you to:
All of this helps unlock faster access to imaging for rural populations – and transforms how rural physicians approach both diagnostics and ongoing care.
Want to reduce unnecessary follow-ups and improve patient care?
__
References:
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Rural healthcare patients already face limited access to imaging technology, but the situation worsens when tests fail to answer physicians’ questions. Research suggests roughly 1 in 12 noninvasive healthcare exams are inconclusive – often leading to more secondary tests, higher longer-term costs, and even more travel and complications for rural patients.1
These scenarios can be mitigated using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to generate images faster, evaluate their results, and run further scans when necessary – and this article explores how that works.
While 20% of Americans live in rural locations, only 9% of the country’s physicians serve those communities.2 Estimates suggest 80% of rural counties are “medically underserved,”34 driven by several key factors:
As a result, many patients struggle to access routine imaging technology. “In rural communities, folks don’t necessarily have access to state-of-the-art equipment—the CT scanners, MRIs—that you might need to diagnose certain things,” Dr. Suzanne Judd says.9 The results of this are clear: lower utilization of preventive care, higher levels of chronic disease, and higher mortality.10
But what happens when they do travel all that way to undergo a CT scan or X-ray – and the scans are inconclusive or of poor quality?
Patients are left waiting for answers and cannot access expedient follow-up appointments. Diagnosis is slowed, care is delayed, and outcomes suffer. Yet these structural issues are being addressed by a new generation of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) technology.
POCUS devices empower physicians to generate high-quality images in many areas of anatomy – helping to avoid more expensive and invasive techniques such as CT scans or X-rays. Proven to accelerate diagnosis and reduce wait times,11 POCUS provides vital support for monitoring ongoing conditions.
Better still, POCUS can dramatically reduce the need for unnecessary invasive procedures or follow-up scans. The speed and relatively low cost of POCUS scans mean images can be assessed quickly – and scans can be re-run if necessary to get the information needed.
This helps rural physicians:
But these benefits depend on the design of the POCUS device. For example, some systems still require cords, which can limit ease of use in certain settings—especially outside of a traditional clinic. Vave Health addresses this with a truly cordless experience designed for maximum flexibility.
Our POCUS devices are simple, portable, and affordable for rural physicians. Their cordless design and seamless integration with our digital platform enable you to:
All of this helps unlock faster access to imaging for rural populations – and transforms how rural physicians approach both diagnostics and ongoing care.
Want to reduce unnecessary follow-ups and improve patient care?
__
References:
With no hidden fees or other unwelcome surprises, Vave offers high-quality imaging at the best price.
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