Impact of increased emergency department ultrasound utilization on patient visit patterns

Background: Ultrasonography is an important radiation-free diagnostic tool in emergency medicine, offering rapid bedside assessment. However, the relationship between increased ultrasound utilization and emergency department (ED) visit patterns has not yet been completely elucidated. Methods: This quasi-experimental study compared two regional hospitals (2021–2023) implementing different ultrasound strategies to analyze the relationship between ultrasound utilization rates and ED visit patterns, controlling for hospital characteristics and temporal trends using negative binomial regression. Results: The utilization rate of ultrasound technology at Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital increased from 19.98% to 54.13% during the study period. Although the increased utilization of ultrasound was generally associated with a decrease in ED visits (β = −2.3342, p < 0.001), the significant interaction term “Time After: Hospital 1” (β = 0.0332, p < 0.001) suggested that the intervention hospital had an increase in ED visits more consistently than the control hospital. Interestingly, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital maintained this positive trend despite a decrease in the regional demographics. Conclusions: While higher ultrasound utilization was generally associated with fewer ED visits, the intervention hospital maintained more consistent ED visit patterns over time. This complex relationship suggests that the impact of increased ultrasound capability on ED utilization patterns may involve multiple factors beyond simple cause-and-effect relationships. Further research using more rigorous study designs is needed to establish potential causal relationships between ultrasound usage and ED visit patterns.

Emergency medicine; Ultrasound; Healthcare quality; Emergency department visits

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