To explore the basic problems faced in the ultrasonic quality control in Hubei Province.

According to the sample survey results of national medical quality data in 2019, the quality control data of 12 provincial and ministerial-level hospitals, 61 city-level hospitals, and 151 county-level hospitals in Hubei Province were analyzed. The composition ratio of ultrasonic doctors, structural quality indicators (average daily ultrasound examination amount in outpatients, emergency cases, cases undergoing physical examination, and cases undergoing inpatient ultrasound examination; the ratio between the number of ultrasonic doctors to patients or diagnostic instruments), process quality indexes (mean appointment time of ultrasound examination and cases with ultrasound critical value report), and result quality indexes (positive rate of ultrasound reports and compliance rate of ultrasonic diagnosis) were compared among hospitals of different levels to investigate the current situation of ultrasound quality control in 224 hospitals. The ultrasonic quality control indicators in hospitals of different levels (provincial and ministerial, city, and county levels) were compared by chi-square test or one-way ANOVA. When the difference was statistically significant, pairwise comparison was made.

There were statistically significant differences in the average number, age, professional title, and educational background of 2556 ultrasonic doctors in hospitals of different levels (F=89.218, χ²=44.830, 17.039, 1208.716, P<0.05). Structure quality indexes including the average daily ultrasound examination amount in outpatients, emergency cases, cases of physical examination, cases of in-hospital ultrasound examination, and the ratio between the number of ultrasonic doctors and patients exhibited statistically significant differences among hospitals of different levels (F=55.990, 40.390, 21.877, 54.520, 5.740, P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the ratio between the number of ultrasonic doctors and diagnostic instruments among hospitals of different levels (P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the average inpatient ultrasound appointment time and the cases with ultrasound critical value report among hospitals of different levels (P>0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the positive rate of ultrasound reports between city-level and county-level hospitals (t=3.221, P<0.05), while the compliance rate of ultrasound diagnosis showed no statistically significant difference among hospitals of different levels (P>0.05).

There are some differences in the structural quality indicators among hospitals of different levels in Hubei Province, especially the ratio of educational background and age of the ultrasonic doctors. Strengthening the construction of ultrasonic doctor team, paying attention to the quality control indexes of ultrasonic process and results, and establishing a perfect quality control system play an important role in improving the ultrasonic diagnosis level in Hubei Province.