Documenting Preliminary Findings - Video Lesson

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to our series on ultrasound patient care. This lesson discusses the essential components of a preliminary ultrasound report, proper recording of sonographic observations, and the expectations and limitations of your role as a sonographer. Knowing these aspects of reporting preliminary ultrasound findings is essential to providing appropriate patient care and complying with HIPAA and ethical considerations. As a sonographer, you play a critical role in patient care, not just by capturing high quality images, but also by documenting your observations. Your role as a sonographer is to provide clear, objective, and well organized preliminary findings that help guide the physician's interpretation and diagnosis. That last statement is critical to remember. As a sonographer, you are not making a diagnosis. The role of diagnosing is out of the scope of practice for a sonographer and the job of a licensed physician. Your role is to effectively document the finding.