Summary: A study found that point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) significantly reduces hospital length of stay and costs, improving patient outcomes and efficiency, with full findings to be published in 2025.

Key Takeaways

  • Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) reduces hospital stays and costs: The study found that POCUS significantly shortened hospital length of stay, with reductions averaging over four days, and decreased healthcare costs, particularly for lower-acuity patients.
  • Improved patient flow and resource utilization: Daily lung ultrasound use was shown to accelerate discharges for lower-acuity patients, enhancing patient flow and reducing hospital resource demands.
  • High-impact results for higher-acuity patients: For higher-acuity patients, the length of stay dropped dramatically from 39 days to 16.7 days, demonstrating POCUS’s potential to transform outcomes for the most critically ill patients.

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Butterfly Network, Inc. has announced preliminary findings from a study conducted by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), part of RWJBarnabas Health. The study examined the impact of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) on patient outcomes and hospital efficiency.

Improving Patient Flow and Hospital Efficiency

The study focused on using cardiopulmonary POCUS for hospitalized patients with unexplained shortness of breath. It compared outcomes between physicians using Butterfly iQ+ and iQ3 devices and those not using POCUS. The findings showed a significant reduction in hospital length of stay (LOS) and healthcare costs.

On average, patient LOS decreased by over four days. For lower-acuity patients, LOS was reduced from 6.7 to 5.6 days. For higher-acuity patients, it was reduced from 39 to 16.7 days. These reductions also resulted in notable cost savings, with lower-acuity patients experiencing up to a 50% cost reduction.

“This study demonstrates the practical benefits of POCUS in stratifying patient acuity, reducing hospital resource utilization, and improving patient flow,” says Partho Sengupta, MD, Henry Rutgers Professor of Cardiology and chief of cardiovascular medicine at RWJMS and RWJUH, and principal investigator of the study. “The findings underscore the importance of integrating POCUS into modern hospital care to enhance outcomes and address healthcare inefficiencies.”

Lung Ultrasound Speeds Discharges

Daily use of lung ultrasound (LUS) was identified as a key factor in accelerating discharges for lower-acuity patients.

“These results highlight the role of POCUS in improving care delivery and reducing hospitalization costs,” says John Martin, MD, chief medical officer at Butterfly Network.

The full study is expected to be published in the first half of 2025.