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Are your anesthesia providers pressuring you to purchase a portable ultrasound machine so they can better perform regional blocks? Many providers say ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia is becoming a standard of care. Newly trained practitioners are often accustomed to using the equipment to locate nerves because that's how they learned the technique. But at about $20,000 to $30,000 per machine, this equipment isn't cheap. What's more, your facility can't bill any extra for the use of ultrasound in administering anesthesia, making it difficult to cost-justify, especially at a time when facilities aren't exactly flush with cash for capital equipment purchases. Before you loosen your purse strings, ask these 5 questions to determine whether it's worth the expense.
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