Evaluation of the use of ultrasonography in primary care

Ultrasonography is proposed as a useful diagnostic aid for primarycare physicians. This prospective study describes the demandfor ultrasound examinations, excluding heart, vessels and pregnancymonitoring, in primary care in Switzerland. Eleven independentphysicians requested an average of 2.7 ultrasound examinationsper month and 18 residents 1.9 per month, which was similarto the figure of 2.2 obtained in a population-based study of82 primary care physicians serving a region of 80, 000 inhabitants.Current demand for ultrasound scanning is low and does not indicatesystematic training of primary care physicians until the efficacyof ultrasonography in this setting has been shown.