Diagnostic ultrasound machines: pros and cons

As with any other major purchase, it’s important to understand the benefits that a diagnostic ultrasound machine affords your practice as well as consider some of the potential drawbacks.

Ultrasound machine pros

• Accurate diagnoses: Ultrasound is effective for pinpointing problems in almost any body part. It also gives physicians a high level of confidence in their diagnosis.
• Multifunctional: You can typically use the same diagnostic ultrasound machine to examine a fetus, internal organs, or muscles and other soft tissues.
• Inexpensive: It costs less to own and operate an ultrasound machine than most other diagnostic health-care equipment, such as an MRI.
• Non-invasive procedure: Ultrasound may be performed without entering the body or puncturing the skin.
• Minimal risk: Sonogram waves don’t emit harmful radiation, so they’re generally safe to use on most patients.
• Durable: Well-maintained ultrasound machines can last five, 10, or even 20 years. In addition, they maintain their resale value.

• Facilitates healing process: Since an ultrasound can diagnose problems quickly, medical professionals can focus on getting the patient well.
• Profit center: Each sonogram you perform costs a few hundred dollars; the more patients you see, the quicker the machine can pay for itself.
• Health insurance approved: Health insurers easily reimburse ultrasound procedures because it saves them from having to pay for more expensive procedures.

Ultrasound machine cons

• Image quality: Standard diagnostic ultrasound machines don’t provide photo-quality images; for good resolution you’d have to rely on a considerably more expensive three-dimensional or four-dimensional ultrasound.
• Professional operators only: To properly render images and diagnose patients, only registered ultrasonographers or trained doctors can operate the equipment.
• Expensive repairs: Like other computer-based equipment, ultrasound machines and their components are subject to breakdowns. Unless you have a maintenance agreement in place, repairs could cost several hundreds of dollars per hour and can take as long as a full day to fix.
• Downtime possible: If your ultrasound machine is out of commission, you won’t be able to administer sonograms on your patients. Unless you have a backup ultrasound machine, you won’t be able to diagnose patients immediately, which could cause delays; worst case, you could risk losing them to another practice.

• Must use sparingly: Too-frequent use of ultrasound on pregnant women can result in low birth weight in babies. There’s also a small risk of fetal tissues absorbing energy from the sound waves or bubbles forming in the blood due to the heat the machine generates.
• No individual reimbursement for OB/GYN: While insurance companies will pay for ultrasound procedures for medical conditions, OB/GYN practitioners only get reimbursed under global fee billing. This billing system combines ultrasound with other treatments related to the overall care of pregnant women.