With the ever-increasing time and cost constraints in modern healthcare,questions have been raised as to whether part of the heavy work load of radiologists could be relieved by sonographers carrying out some examinations.
This article summarizes the results of a Norwegian study of the accuracy of newly trained sonographers in carrying out upper abdominal ultrasound exams, compared to radiologists. It was found that the sonographers had accuracy levels similar to those of the radiologists.
By Kari Vikestad Gerhardsen and Bjørn Hofmann