Echotech Reporting Guidelines

Rationale

Echotech have devised strict reporting guidelines developed by the Echotech Clinical Lead and the Echotech Clinical Operations Director and are reviewed at monthly clinical governance meetings.

The reporting guidelines have been developed to:

• promote both the quality and consistency of all reports
• to encourage a systematic approach to reporting and
• to facilitate the accurate comparison of echocardiograms performed by different Echotech Cardiac Physiologists at different sites

All Echotech scans are full investigations and adhere to the BSE Education Committee recommendations for 'a minimum dataset for a standard adult transthoracic echocardiogram'. BSE Education Committee October 2005.

The Echotech reporting guidelines include reference values detailed in the BSE guideline for chamber and valve quantification. BSE Education Committee May 2008.

The Echotech report is primary care focussed and is therefore written in clear, descriptive terms, stating all key findings, whether normal or abnormal, detailing both morphology and function for each cardiac structure.

The use of tick boxes is used extensively to further enhance the clarity of the report. The underlying basis for a particular box being ticked (e.g. moderate AS) is then made clear in the technical report section.

The report also states a conclusion / summary which:

• emphasises the abnormal findings
• responds to the question(s) posed by the referring clinician and
• details the LV systolic function and the LV diastolic function (where appropriate)

For the full Echotech 'reporting guidelines' document please contact Echotech.