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Observational Study to Validate a Family Physician Echocardiography Training Programme
Sponsor: Societat Catalana de Medicina Familiar i Comunitària, Assoc. (CAMFiC)
Summary
Observational Study on the Validation of Family Doctors' Training in Echocardiography The Catalan Society of Family and Community Medicine (CAMFiC) developed a structured training program for Family Physicians in focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS). This study evaluates GP FoCUS performance against comprehensive echocardiography and assesses training competence. Developed between September 2023 and November 2025 (92 hours total, including 70 hours supervised practice), participants perform FoCUS on patients with suspected cardiac pathology. The study measures concordance between GP FoCUS and cardiologist echocardiography, and evaluates FoCUS integration into primary care pathways to enhance diagnostic capacity for common cardiac conditions.
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
15 Years - Any
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
500
Start Date
2023-09-12
Completion Date
2027-12-31
Last Updated
2026-01-14
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Cohort of GPs: Training program
1. Accredited curriculum: 18 hours of online theory (2.7 CCFCPS credits) with a mandatory 20-item MCQ assessing knowledge and image interpretation. 2. Structured, supervised scanning volume: 4-hour hands-on introductory session on core cardiac views using healthy volunteers, followed by 70 hours of supervised clinical training with a hospital cardiologist, including a predefinied target of 60 FoCUS examinations per GP.
Cohort of patients
Eligible patients are those seen in routine primary care by participating GPs who, based on usual clinical judgment, need an echocardiographic assessment. In these cases, the GP will perform a FoCUS scan as part of the consultation and record a standard set of variables in the study eCRF. When the patient subsequently undergoes a comprehensive echocardiography in cardiology, both assessments (GP FoCUS and cardiology echocardiography) will be paired to evaluate agreement. No additional tests or extra study visits are required beyond usual care.
Locations (1)
Societat Catalana de Medicina Familiar i Comunitària (CAMFiC)
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain