Improving Patient Experience and Access with Obstetric Ultrasound, it's all in an image.
ePoster
Authors: Thomas Howell, Mayo clinic Kristina Rauenhorst, Mayo Clinic Health System Hollie Stegemann, Mayo Clinic
The Mayo Clinic Health System (MCHS) in Southeast Minnesota (SEMN) was experiencing an access issue for Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) ultrasounds. The OB/GYN Department was utilizing Radiology Sonography staff in SEMN for all Obstetric (OB) ultrasounds. These ultrasounds are often time dependent, and lack of access was adversely affecting care. In addition, quality of OB ultrasounds was suboptimal due to settings on the equipment that was used for a variety of radiology ultrasounds. The Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) team also wanted to reduce the number of externally referred ultrasounds due to suboptimal access at the MCHS sites. To address these gaps, ultrasound technologists specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology ultrasound were brought into the Obstetrics clinic to perform Obstetrics Ultrasounds with real time reading and reporting of results. The objectives of this pilot project were met and more by bringing Obstetrics ultrasound into the Obstetrics Department. Due to the overwhelming success of this pilot, similar models have been adopted at additional sites.