RCCbc established the Rural Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) Strategy group to incorporate the learnings, relationships and progress made throughout the Intelligent Network for POCUS (IN PoCUS) project, as well as other RCCbc and network PoCUS initiatives.
968
rural providers registered for Rural POCUS Rounds in 2024
115
Hands-on Ultrasound Education (HOUSE) learners in 2024/25 – Point of Care Ultrasound courses for rural residents, emergency, obstetrics and pediatrics
Why we’re passionate about PoCUS
With the goal to support and inform the creation of rural, province-wide access to PoCUS for everyone practising and living in a rural, remote or Indigenous community across British Columbia; we aim to increase access to care, betterment of provider and patient relationships, and the overall health of individuals.
The IN PoCUS project included multiple stakeholders, including RCCbc who provided funding and support for more than 50 rural physicians to receive PoCUS probes. The project was completed in 2021–22 and the qualitative study on the project has been accepted for publication in the British Medical Journal Open. This study conducted in-depth virtual interviews with 21 general practitioners across rural British Columbia on participants’ motivation to participate in the RCCbc program, the type of training they received, their current use of PoCUS, their experience with the technology, and their experience interacting with specialists in regional centres.
The Rural PoCUS Strategy team created a survey to better understand the current state of use of PoCUS in rural British Columbia with the hope of understanding the attitudes about and barriers to using PoCUS. The answers provided by hundreds of rural physicians will inform the development and improvement of medical education and practice supports for rural clinicians in the province using PoCUS. The survey was also conducted for research purposes and the responses are currently being collated and populated to tell the story of rural PoCUS and inform changes.
Report: Rural family physician use of point-of-care ultrasonography: Experiences of primary care providers
Benefits of PoCUS
The benefits of PoCUS-trained rural providers include:
- Care closer to home
- Faster diagnoses
- Better relationships with providers
- Provider satisfaction
- Cost savings to patients on travel
- Provider education
PoCUS initiatives
PoCUS newsletters
Read about our work with St. Paul’s Hospital
Research & stories
Read more about recent achievements
Team Involved
Related Content
Real-Time Virtual Support (RTVS)
Rural providers can connect with Real-Time Virtual Support at the click of a button. The program supports rural recruitment and retention and increases access to care closer to home for medically isolated communities.
Rural Continuing Medical Education Programs
The RCME Community and Individual Programs provide funding and other supports to rural doctors to update and enhance their medical skills and credentials required for rural practice.
