Table 3 Governance and care pathway benefits of describing scope of sonographic and clinical practice
‘Audience’ | Utility |
|---|---|
The referring clinician and other members of the care pathway (e.g. intensivist, respiratory physician, etc.) | The referring clinician is aware of what the physiotherapist has the remit to scan and what can be inferred from the scan. Just as importantly they are aware of the limitations of the scan and that for aspects that are out of scope of practice (e.g. imaging for or identification of cardiac pathology, causes of free abdominal fluid, etc.) that the scan is not for the purposes of either confirming or excluding |
Patient | In providing informed consent (where applicable), the patient is aware of what the imaging is being performed for, but just as importantly what the imaging is not being performed for (as above) |
Professional body and regulatory body | The professional and regulatory bodies can identify that the imaging being performed and the clinical inferences derived from the scan are permissible for that clinician/profession, and correspondingly can confer permission to proceed/professional indemnity coverage |
The insurer (professional body, employer or 3rd party) | The insurer can consider the scope of sonographic and clinical practice to determine whether insurance coverage can be provided and to more accurately determine any insurance premium |
The manager of the clinician | Provides clarity regarding what the clinician will be imaging and what they will be doing with that information. As such, allows for the design and staffing of existing and new care pathways |
The education provider | Provides clarity regarding the requisite education content and the necessary areas for evidencing competency. This includes the clinical indication for and the clinical implementation of the sonographic information |
The clinician | The clinician can undertake the necessary education and competency assessment requirements, and can be confident that the relevant governance elements have been addressed and that clinicians upstream/downstream are aware of the remit of the scan |