The Financial Value of POCUS Beyond Billing: Why It Pays Off in Value-Based Care
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is often viewed primarily as a billing opportunity, but that’s just one piece of the picture. For practices operating under case-rate contracts, capitation models, or value-based care arrangements, POCUS offers substantial financial value that extends well beyond CPT codes.
Whether you're aiming to improve efficiency, meet quality benchmarks, or reduce unnecessary downstream costs, POCUS can help your practice deliver better care while strengthening your margins.
1. Better Patient Retention and Satisfaction
POCUS enables clinicians to deliver fast, accurate answers at the bedside. This improves the patient experience, builds trust, and increases retention. One primary care study found that 95% of patients reported POCUS improved their level of service, and 94% felt it enhanced the overall quality of care they received. [1] In competitive markets, patients are more likely to return to a practice that offers timely answers and avoids unnecessary referrals or delays.
Why it matters financially: Retaining patients lowers acquisition costs and helps practices maximize revenue under case-rate or capitated models, where every encounter counts.
Read more about why patients love POCUS.
2. Fewer Unnecessary ED Transfers and Imaging Referrals
POCUS empowers providers to make confident, real-time decisions. Whether it’s ruling out a deep vein thrombosis, identifying a simple abscess, or assessing bladder volume, clinicians can often avoid unnecessary referrals to the emergency department or radiology. For example, the average cost of an emergency department evaluation for suspected DVT can exceed $2,000, while an inpatient admission for CHF exacerbation may cost more than $14,000. [2][3] Avoiding just one ED evaluation for DVT per week and one CHF-related admission per month could save a practice over $100,000 annually.
Why it matters financially: Reducing external referrals lowers the total cost of care, which is essential in shared savings and value-based contracts. It also minimizes patient leakage.
3. Improved Diagnostic Accuracy and Efficiency
With POCUS, providers don’t have to wait for imaging results or make uncertain diagnoses. This leads to faster treatment, better outcomes, and reduced risk of diagnostic errors. ED literature shows that POCUS reduces time to diagnosis in patients with pulmonary complaints from 186 minutes to 24 minutes and shortens ED stay by 65 minutes for patients with abdominal pain. [4,5] A primary care study found that POCUS changed the diagnosis in 49.4% of cases, increased diagnostic confidence in 89.2%, led to a new management plan in 50.9%, and changed treatment in 26.5% of patients. It also reduced intended referrals to secondary care from 49.2% to 25.6%. [6]
Why it matters financially: Avoiding diagnostic delays or errors decreases malpractice risk and boosts care quality scores, both of which have direct financial implications.
Although liability is often cited as a concern by leadership, POCUS has rarely been implicated in medicolegal lawsuits. Read more about the medicolegal evidence and POCUS.
4. Stronger Quality Metrics and Performance Bonuses
Many payer contracts tie financial incentives to quality metrics such as reduced ED utilization, timely diagnoses, and chronic disease management. POCUS helps practices meet these benchmarks more consistently.
To put this into perspective: avoiding just one ED referral each week for urinary retention requiring catheter placement (approximately $1,200) and one referral for renal colic requiring a CT scan ($3,500 to $5,900) can result in over $250,000 in avoided costs annually. [7,8]
Why it matters financially: Practices that meet or exceed quality goals are often eligible for performance bonuses, higher reimbursement tiers, and increased shared savings.
5. Less Reliance on Radiology
Training your team to use POCUS allows more clinical decisions to be made in-house, reducing delays and eliminating added imaging costs. Hiring a full-time ultrasound or radiology technician can cost between $70,000 and $100,000 annually, not including benefits or equipment. [9] Empowering providers with POCUS skills avoids this overhead, enhances flexibility, and improves throughput.
Why it matters financially: Shifting diagnostic capabilities to the point of care reduces radiology spending and supports efficiency, especially in fixed-payment models.
6. Stronger Provider Retention
POCUS also helps retain clinicians, particularly in rural or resource-limited settings where recruitment can be difficult. Giving providers tools like POCUS allows them to meet clinical standards, work more independently, and deliver higher-quality care.
Why it matters financially: Lower turnover means less spent on recruitment and onboarding, more consistent patient care, and improved team satisfaction.
7. A Clear Differentiator in a Crowded Market
Offering advanced diagnostic tools like POCUS sets your practice apart. It signals innovation, efficiency, and a commitment to patient-centered care.
Why it matters financially: Practices that stand out attract more patients, retain top-tier clinicians, and earn stronger payer partnerships.
POCUS is not just a tool; it’s a strategic asset. It supports faster diagnoses, improves outcomes, and aligns perfectly with the financial and operational goals of modern healthcare. By driving efficiency, reducing unnecessary utilization, and helping providers meet quality metrics, POCUS directly supports success in value-based care models. For organizations operating under shared savings, case rates, or capitated payments, these gains translate into stronger performance incentives, lower total cost of care, and improved margins.
Want to see what POCUS could do for your practice? Fill out this contact form to schedule a call. We support forward-thinking medical practices in adopting POCUS to improve patient care and efficiency. Not ready for a call? Learn about the high-yield POCUS applications in primary care and sign up for our monthly newsletter.
References:
Andersen CA, Brodersen J, Rudbæk TR, Jensen MB. Patients' experiences of the use of point-of-care ultrasound in general practice - a cross-sectional study. BMC Fam Pract. 2021 Jun 18;22(1):116. doi: 10.1186/s12875-021-01459-z. PMID: 34144701; PMCID: PMC8214303.
Caldwell S, Smith J. Health Care Cost and Utilization Report: Emergency Department. Health Care Cost Institute. Published March 2023. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://healthcostinstitute.org/emergency-department-report
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. National Inpatient Hospital Costs: The Most Expensive Conditions by Payer, 2017. Statistical Brief #261. Published January 2020. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb261-Most-Expensive-Hospital-Conditions.jsp
Zanobetti, Scorpiniti, M., Gigli, C., Nazerian, P., Vanni, S., Innocenti, F., Stefanone, V. T., Savinelli, C., Coppa, A., Bigiarini, S., Caldi, F., Tassinari, I., Conti, A., Grifoni, S., & Pini, R. (2017). Point-of-Care Ultrasonography for Evaluation of Acute Dyspnea in the ED. Chest, 151(6), 1295–1301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2017.02.003
Durgun Y, Yurumez Y, Guner NG, Aslan N, Durmus E, Kahraman Y. Abdominal Pain Management and Point-of-care Ultrasound in the Emergency Department: A Randomised, Prospective, Controlled Study. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2022;32(10):1260-1265. doi:10.29271/jcpsp.2022.10.1260
Aakjær Andersen C, Brodersen J, Davidsen AS, Graumann O, Jensen MBB. Use and impact of point-of-care ultrasonography in general practice: a prospective observational study. BMJ Open. 2020 Sep 17;10(9):e037664. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037664. PMID: 32948563; PMCID: PMC7500300.
Morey JR, Winters RC, Mullan AF, Schupbach J, Jones DD. Payer Type and Emergency Department Visit Prices. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(3):e241297. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.1297
Schoenfeld EM, Shieh M, Pekow PS, Scales CD, Munger JM, Lindenauer PK. Association of Patient and Visit Characteristics With Rate and Timing of Urologic Procedures for Patients Discharged From the Emergency Department With Renal Colic. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(12):e1916454. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.16454
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023: Radiologic Technologists and Technicians. Accessed July 14, 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes292034.htm
About Dr. Havryliuk and Hello Sono:
Dr. Havryliuk is an emergency physician, formerly ultrasound director at the Brooklyn Hospital, and founder of Hello Sono. Throughout her 15 years of clinical practice, she has relied on POCUS to make informed clinical decisions whether it was in an urban ED, urgent care, or Everest Base Camp. Dr. Havryliuk is now on a mission to extend the benefits of POCUS to primary care and urgent care practices as well as rural hospitals by addressing the key barriers: lack of POCUS competency and infrastructure. Her team at Hello Sono offers in-person provider training and support with credentialing and implementation to build high-quality, compliant, and profitable POCUS programs. Hello Sono’s services include in-person workshops, exam review/quality assurance, and implementation support (workflow, curriculum, protocols, documentation, billing education).
Connect with Dr. Havryliuk on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatiana-havryliuk-md/.
Sign up for Hello Sono Newsletter and check out Hello Sono 2025 POCUS ROI Calculators.