Patient Care, Safety, and Professional Standards
Patient Care, Safety, and Professional Standards
This domain tests safe, ethical, patient-centered vascular ultrasound practice, including infection control, bioeffects, ergonomics, privacy, and documentation.
Core rules
- Obtain informed consent for invasive or contrast procedures and explain the examination. Protect privacy under HIPAA; discuss findings only with authorized persons.
- Use standard precautions. Clean the probe with a compatible low-level disinfectant after contact with intact skin; use a sterile sheath for open wounds, mucous membranes, or sterile fields. Follow manufacturer contact times.
- Apply ALARA: keep mechanical index and thermal index as low as reasonably achievable, limit dwell time, and reduce output when possible. Doppler has higher intensity than B-mode.
- Use neutral wrist and shoulder posture, adjust bed height, and support the scanning arm to reduce musculoskeletal strain. Document limited examinations and technical factors that affect interpretation.
- Stay within scope: report measurements and descriptive findings; do not make treatment decisions outside credentialing and institutional policy.
Worked example
A patient with an open leg ulcer needs venous duplex. Use a sterile probe sheath and sterile gel, maintain standard precautions, and minimize pressure over the ulcer. Document the sheath, limited contact, and any segments not visualized. If the patient cannot tolerate compression, state that limitation rather than implying a normal study.
Traps
Do not use a dirty probe on broken skin, exceed ALARA for color or spectral Doppler, or disclose results in public areas. Do not omit technical limitations from the report; they are part of the record.