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Hi Erica,
Thank you for reaching out. We appreciate your thoughtful reflection on the challenges you have encountered since transitioning to private practice. You have raised an important issue that many sonographers face: variable referral quality and the pressure to proceed with ultrasounds that may lack sufficient clinical justification.
You are correct that Medicare requires imaging requests to include enough clinical information to justify the examination. While ultrasound is considered low-risk, this does not mean that referrals can be vague or unsupported. The request should contain sufficient information for the sonographer to determine that the examination is appropriate. However, there is no strict standard orguidelines from Medicare or RANZCR stating what clinical notes should include.
In cases where the referral lacks clarity and you cannot reach the referrer you could use your clinical judgment to assess whether the ultrasound is likely to give any meaningful information, document your concerns, engage with othersonographers and radiologists to build an understanding of when it is appropriate to delay or question a referral.
You could ask the practice manager to provide feedback to referrers and also ask the practice manager for education and written guidance.
Thank you for raising this important issue. Please reach out if you would like further information.
Thanks,
Emma