Observational Study to Validate a Family Physician Echocardiography Training Programme

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.

Conditions

• Heart Failure
• Valvular Heart Diseases
• Atrial Fibrillation (AF)
• Arterial Hypertension
• Cardiomyopathies

Interventions

OTHER

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.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Barcelona

  collaborator OTHER

• Fundacio d'Investigacio en Atencio Primaria Jordi Gol i Gurina

  collaborator OTHER

• Societat Catalana de Medicina Familiar i Comunitària, Assoc. (CAMFiC)

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Antoni Sisó-Almirall, Ph.D. · IDIBAPS. CAMFiC.

• Laura Conangla-Ferrín, Ph.D. · Institut Catlà de la Salut. CAMFiC

Eligibility

Min Age

15 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-09-12

Primary Completion

2026-12-31

Completion

2027-12-31

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations