Emergency Medicine Specialists
Advances Care with Bedside Ultrasound
Contributing Authors: Spyridon Boukouris, M.D., RDMS
and Leonard V. Bunting, M.D., F.A.C.E.P
With a focus on providing bedsideultrasound care in
the emergency room,Emergency Medicine Specialists (EMS)has
established programs in the emergencydepartments at St. John
Hospital andMedical Center and St. John MacombOakland Hospital,
Oakland Center. Byincorporating the use of ultrasound as atool
in emergent situations, EMS physicians are better able to promptly
and efficiently diagnose patients presenting at these two sites.
Dr. Anthony C. Southall, president of Emergency Medicine Specialists,
P.C.explains, "The use of bedside ultrasoundhas greatly
improved the diagnosis and management of patients seen in
the emergency department. I am convinced this modality will
become standard practice in the future. I am proud that EMS, PC
is leading the way both in practice an din the training of our
residents.
"Leading the ultrasound initiative and serving as
director of emergency ultrasonography at St. John Hospital in
Detroit is EMS physician, Dr. Leonard Bunting. Dr. Bunting completed
an Emergency Ultrasound Preceptorship at the University of
Massachusetts and is a Michigan College of Emergency Physician
(www.MCEP.org) faculty lecturer in basic and advanced ultrasound
courses. He recently contributed a chapter for ACEP’s ultrasound
website (www.sonoguide.com) on ultrasound guided regional anesthesia
which will be released early this year. Dr. Bunting has emphasized
the importance of training in the use of bedside ultrasound at St.
John’sED. "I’d like to congratulate the emergency medicine
physicians at SJHMC for their participation and enthusiasm for the
program. Thanks to their hard work,we are the first hospital group
in Michigan to have all of our doctors credentialed in emergency
ultrasound. It is this kind of dedication that keeps EMS at the
head of the pack.
"Dr. Robert B. Takla, medical director and chair
of the department of emergency medicine at the hospital
concurs, "Bedside ultrasonography is quickly becoming the new
stethoscope for emergency physicians.Current residents are being
well trained in its multiple applications and physicians who have
been in practice for sometime are truly appreciating the added
diagnostic support and applications to facilitate and make
procedures safer for our patients."EMS physician and director of
emergency ultrasonography at St. John Macomb Oakland Hospital’s
Oakland Center,Dr. Spyridon Boukouris, has met the rigorous
qualifications in achievement as a new ARDMS Registrant. Dr.
Boukouris’certification by the premier credentialing organization
for ultrasound professionals, the American Registry for
Diagnostic Medical Sonography(ARDMS) represents the highest
level of competence in the medical-imaging modality of
sonography testing.With the strength of his background, Dr.
Boukouris is able to lend his expertise to the group of emergency
medicine physicians at St. John Oakland Center located in Madison
Heights, Michigan.Bedside Ultrasound Dr. Boukouris is an
enthusiastic promoter of the program and elaborates, “It’s exciting
to use such real time information at the bedside to narrow down your
differential diagnosis and quickly derive the answer to your
clinical question.A prompt diagnosis can help drive down the
cost of hospitalizations by decreasing length of stay and
improving turnaround times. It can also improveutilization of
resources by focusing on the clinical problem.
"Dr. Antonio
Bonfiglio, medical director of the emergency department at St. John
Oakland Center supports the use of ultrasound in the ED. “It’s really
standard care in emergency medicine in 2010. The residents we
train will need these skills to practice emergency medicine in the
future. Its use represents further advancement for our specialty
in providing the highest quality care to our patients’ real time."
Summing up the importance of bedside ultrasound in the future, Dr.
Boukouris adds, "Hopefully one day, bedside ultrasonography will
become standard across all emergency departments and will become
integrated into the practice patterns of all emergency physicians."
For more information about the American Registry for Diagnostic
Medical Sonography (ARDMS) please visit: www.ARDMS.org.
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Posted:
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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