Exploring the Dimensions of Quality and Future Directions

Echocardiography as with other imaging techniques has many outcomes measures that are related to structure and process. True outcome measures, that is, how an echocardiogram result directly affects a patient outcome, are very difficult to develop at the present. Many efforts are underway to develop outcome measures for imaging and those will be explored as well as future directions for quality initiatives in echocardiography and the societies and boards involved in quality assessment.