Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a focused ultrasound exam clinician performs at the bedside. POCUS exams improve the accuracy, quality, and efficiency of clinical care.

Started in 2015, the hospital-wide POCUS program at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is one of only a few in the country.

Subspecialties

Our program includes 14 pediatric subspecialties:

We also have support from:

• Bioengineering
• Clinical Informatics
• Department of Quality and Safety
• Information Services Division
• Information Technology Clinical Applications
• Medical Affairs
• Radiology Information Technology
• Revenue Analysis

Our Mission

To improve patient care across diverse clinical specialties by standardizing the performance of point-of-care diagnostic and procedural ultrasound.

Resources

• American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement: Point-of-Care Ultrasonography by Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physicians
• American College of Rheumatology Recommendations for Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
• American College of Surgeons: Ultrasound Examinations by Surgeons
• American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology Application for Certification
• American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine: Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia
• Focused Cardiac Ultrasound: Recommendations from the American Society of Echocardiography
• Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography: Focused Cardiac Ultrasound in the Emergent Setting
• Society of Critical Care Medicine Ultrasonography Guidelines

Examples