2, 78.8) want studies demonstrating improvements in patient morbidity. Table 3 shows factors and research that

would facilitate INK1197 prehospital ultrasound implementation. In addition to the survey questions, 5 EMS medical directors commented that a cost/benefit analysis would be important research to undertake in the field. Table 3 Factors that would facilitate implementation of prehospital ultrasound among to EMS medical directors not currently using ultrasound Discussion The results of our study indicate that prehospital ultrasound is infrequently used in North America. Prehospital physician providers are associated with increased use of ultrasound. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical While EMS services commonly use physicians as primary care providers in Europe, in North America physicians have a smaller role in direct patient care and act more often as EMS Medical directors [29]. This difference may explain the low utilization of ultrasound in prehospital care in North America while Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical it may be more feasible in Europe. Medical directors of EMS systems that are not currently using ultrasound

identified a number of barriers to implementation of prehospital ultrasound. The most commonly cited barriers were related to cost of ultrasound equipment and training. Even some EMS services currently Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical using ultrasound identified cost as an ongoing challenge for them. EMS medical directors identified challenges in training as Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical an important barrier to implementation of ultrasound in their EMS systems. Our study identifies the most commonly used indications for prehospital ultrasound as the FAST exam and assessment of PEA arrest. These indications could be used to create initial prehospital ultrasound curricula. Training for other indications such as AAA screening, vascular access, cardiac tamponade, and pneumothorax imaging could follow a successful template used for FAST and PEA. Before considering Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical implementing ultrasound

into their EMS systems, many directors would like to see additional evidence that prehospital ultrasound improves patient morbidity and mortality. Several EMS directors also specifically mentioned the need for all cost-benefit analyses for prehospital ultrasound. The development of a research agenda for prehospital ultrasound could help provide direction for studies that are most likely to change practices. Our data notes that EMS medical directors believe that the objective of a research agenda should be to evaluate impact of prehospital ultrasound on morbidity and mortality. This study has limitations that arise from using a survey for data collection. The survey is likely to have some degree of selection bias, with respondents that are using ultrasound more likely to respond to the survey because they are already invested in the survey topic (voluntary response bias).