Evaluation of Implementation of a National Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training Program

Background: Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) has been shown to reduce procedure-related complications from invasive bedside procedures, reduce time to diagnosis, and reduce ancillary testing, which ultimately reduces patient radiation exposure and healthcare costs. Despite its potential advantages, POCUS has not been universally adopted in healthcare due to limited numbers of providers trained in use of POCUS. The VA's Simulation Learning, Education and Research Network (SimLEARN) and Specialty Care Centers of Innovation (SCCI) have launched a collaborative initiative to develop a national POCUS training program. The goal of this collaborative training program is to teach VA providers basic diagnostic and procedural applications of POCUS. The proposed project will evaluate the effectiveness of an immersive POCUS training course developed by SimLEARN on provider skill acquisition and retention, frequency of use, and identify barriers/facilitators to POCUS use at participating VHA facilities.

Methods: Approximately 120 participants from a convenience sample of 20 diverse VA facilities will participate in a 2.5-day immersive POCUS training course at the SimLEARN National Simulation Center in Orlando during fiscal year 2017. The investigators' evaluation plan will collect data from facility Chiefs of Staff, providers from facilities participating in POCUS training, and providers from wait-listed facilities at different time points using different assessment tools: VA Facility POCUS Survey, Provider POCUS Survey, Brief Provider POCUS Survey, Pre-/Post-course Knowledge and Skills Test, and Coding Data.

Objective 1: Evaluate provider skill acquisition and retention, and frequency of POCUS use after participation in the POCUS Training Course. Pre- and post-course testing will be used to assess acquisition of knowledge and technical skills to perform POCUS exams. Post-course testing for knowledge and skill retention, and frequency of use, will be performed 6-9 months after the training course.

Objective 2: Determine the effect of the POCUS Training Course and implementation facilitation on facility-level frequency of POCUS use. Facilities with providers that infrequently use POCUS will be eligible to participate in the POCUS Training Course. However, not all facilities will be able to be accommodated in the 1st year of the training program, requiring a facility waiting list. Facilities with providers participating in the POCUS Training Course will be compared to wait-listed facilities with regard to frequency of POCUS use. Using the Brief Provider POCUS Survey, frequency of POCUS use by providers in both participating and waitlisted facilities will be compared. Additionally, coding data will be reviewed to assess frequency of procedures performed with and without imaging guidance and procedural complication rates comparing the two groups of facilities.

Objective 3: Determine provider and facility-level barriers and facilitators to POCUS use. Provider and facility-level barriers will be assessed using 3 tools: Provider POCUS Survey (trained providers), Brief Provider POCUS Survey (wait-listed and participating facilities), and Facility POCUS Survey (all facilities). Differences in barriers reported and their relationship to frequency of POCUS use will be compared.

Objective 4: Development of POCUS Champions course to facilitate local implementation by addressing facility-level barriers. The POCUS Champions course will address several facility-level barriers to implementation that have been identified by the PEI: lack of image archiving, limited access to ultrasound machines, undefined credentialing/privileging processes, need for a quality assurance process, and lack of trained providers. The POCUS Champions course will include an annual 3-day boot camp, bi-monthly conference calls, and ongoing mentorship. The goal of the 3-day boot camp will be for Champions to prepare a local implementation plan that can be presented to their facility's leadership. During the bimonthly conference calls, a brief didactic on a focused topic will be presented followed by an update on local progress from each site. The initial goal of the POCUS Champions course is to facilitate implementation of POCUS use in VA facilities, starting with 4-6 facilities that can serve as models for other facilities. The research to date has identified these elements as core components of a successful POCUS program. The POCUS Champions course will support progress on intermediate milestones towards ensuring these core components are in place, to facilitate adoption, reach, and sustainment. This provides a roadmap to sustainable POCUS use.

Deliverables: The primary deliverable will be report that will summarize the effect of training on provider skill acquisition and retention, frequency of use of POCUS, and barriers and facilitators to POCUS implementation. This project will guide SimLEARN's and SCCI's efforts to develop a National POCUS Training Program and implement POCUS use nationally in the VA healthcare system. Additionally, this report may serve as a roadmap for the VHA for implementation of similar simulation-based educational innovations.