Ultrasonography in primary health care. IPE-98/16 (Public report)
Campillo Artero C, Conde Olasagasti J L,
Record ID 31999008365
Spanish
Authors' objectives:
To assess the usefulness and convenience of including ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool in primary health care services provided by the Spanish National Institute of Health
Authors' results and conclusions:
From 30-70% of sonograms requested by general practitioners showed pathological findings. No studies were found that rigorously assess either the benefits that can be rendered by sonography when performed by general practitioners or the effectiveness of using specific forms requesting sonographs performed by radiologists. The high variability of the estimates, the extremely low number of participants and the serious methodological flaws of the evaluations do not allow for conclusions on the effectiveness of training general practitioners in performing ultrasounds. No model for training general practitioners in sonography had been adopted by health authorities in any country. However, no binding character recommendations exist.
Authors' recommendations:
The medical literature on this subject is scanty, most studies included in this review provide poor evidence, and flaws in their design and methodology preclude drawing conclusions on the performance of ultrasound by general practitioners. The only studies available refer to obstetric ultrasound, which in the Spanish primary health care system is usually carried out by gynaecologists. Pilot studies should be carried out to further explore these issues.
Authors' methods:
Overview
Details
Project Status:
Completed
URL for project:
http://www.isciii.es/aets/
Year Published:
1998
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Spain
MeSH Terms
- Diagnostic Imaging
- Primary Health Care
- Ultrasonography
Contact
Organisation Name:
Agencia de Evaluacion de Tecnologias Sanitarias
Contact Address:
Instituto de Salud "Carlos III", Calle Sinesio Delgado 6, Pabellon 4, 28029 Madrid, Spain. Tel: +34 9 1 822 2005; Fax: +34 9 1 387 7841;
Contact Name:
Luis M. Sánchez Gómez
Contact Email:
luism.sanchez@isciii.es
Copyright:
Agencia de Evaluacion de Tecnologias Sanitarias
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.