LABELING AND DOCUMENTATION
Adequate labeling and safe documentation is essential to safe and effective PoCUS practice.
DOCUMENTATION
Refer to the Middlemore Emergency Department policy on use of focused ultrasound for clear guidance on clinical documentation and implications .
USE OF FOCUSED ULTRASOUND IN ED (MMH POLICY)
qpath
At Middlemore ED completed scans (saved and scan ended by the user) will be uploaded to the Qpath cloud storage platform. You will be able to view your saved scans and also submit these for review by a credentialed ED sonographer.
You will be orientated to Qpath as part of the ultrasound education program in the department.
LABELING
All saved images should be labeled adequately to allow for later clinical interpretation, credentialed review, and for on-going quality purposes. Most machines will allow free typing of the image label, and also have pre-populated labels the user can select from.
Each PoCUS exam will have standard image window requirements and an associated appropriate image label. Not all PoCUS users document in the same way or use the same abbreviations. But in order to maintain quality standards and allow safe interpretation, it is important to use labeling that is clear and follows some convention.
When labeling it may also be important to note the orientation of the image relative to anatomical scan planes, or relative to the imaged objects long and short axes (orthogonal axes) and the level of the scan (e.g. long and short/transverse (Tx) views of the mid aorta).
Below are some examples of label abbreviations:
