Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Ultrasound Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Ultrasound Coordinator is a clinical-administrative leader who ensures efficient, high-quality delivery of diagnostic ultrasound services across ambulatory and inpatient settings. This role combines hands-on sonography knowledge with operational coordination: scheduling and resource allocation, patient preparation and education, protocol and quality assurance oversight, staff scheduling and credential maintenance, and close collaboration with radiologists, cardiologists, OB/GYNs, vascular lab leadership, and registration/billing teams. The ideal candidate has ARDMS/RDMS credentials (or equivalent), strong familiarity with PACS and EMR systems (e.g., Epic/Cerner), and proven experience optimizing imaging workflows while maintaining regulatory compliance (HIPAA, infection control, and departmental policies).

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS/RDCS/RVS)
Radiology/Imaging Technologist seeking a coordination lead role
Healthcare Coordinator or Clinic Scheduler with ultrasound exposure

Advancement To:

Ultrasound Manager / Imaging Services Supervisor
Diagnostic Imaging Operations Manager
Clinical Education Lead / Sonography Program Coordinator

Lateral Moves:

Vascular Lab Coordinator
OB/GYN Imaging Lead
PACS Administrator / Imaging Informatics Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Coordinate daily ultrasound clinic operations by managing appointment scheduling, provider calendars, modality room assignments, and rapid re-allocation of resources to minimize patient wait time and maximize scanner utilization.
Triage incoming physician referrals and imaging requests, ensuring appropriate clinical indications, pre-authorization requirements, and priority status are documented before scheduling.
Serve as the primary point of contact between sonographers, interpreting physicians, outpatient clinics, and hospital units to streamline handoffs, escalate urgent exams, and coordinate STAT/inpatient studies.
Oversee patient intake for ultrasound services: verify patient identity, explain procedures, obtain relevant clinical history, screen for contraindications (e.g., pregnancy or latex allergies), and ensure consent and pre-procedure instructions are communicated.
Maintain and audit ultrasound exam documentation in the electronic medical record (EMR), ensuring exam types, indications, images, and preliminary findings meet institutional and reimbursement standards.
Manage the ultrasound schedule and call rotation for sonographers, including shift assignments, overtime coordination, vacation coverage, and emergent on-call staffing to provide uninterrupted services.
Perform continuous quality assurance (QA) activities, including image quality audits, protocol adherence checks, and tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs) such as turnaround time, no-show rates, and exam completion rates.
Coordinate credentialing, competency assessments, and continuing education tracking for sonography staff; process ARDMS/ARRT certification verifications and license renewals.
Implement and update standardized scanning protocols and departmental policies in collaboration with medical directors and modality leads to maintain consistency across providers and sites.
Liaise with PACS and IT teams to ensure image archiving, modality worklists, DICOM connectivity, and report distribution are functioning; troubleshoot workflow issues affecting image capture and access.
Oversee supply and inventory management for ultrasound suites—ordering transducer covers, gel, disinfectants, and maintenance supplies—and manage relationships with vendors for preventive maintenance and service contracts.
Monitor and enforce infection control and device cleaning procedures for ultrasound probes per manufacturer and institutional guidelines, including high-level disinfection documentation when applicable.
Assist billing and coding teams by ensuring accurate exam codes (CPT/HCPCS) and modifiers are captured, providing clinical clarification for denials, and facilitating timely charge capture for all studies.
Coordinate performance improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma, or other) to reduce cycle times, improve patient satisfaction, and optimize throughput across ultrasound services.
Provide frontline patient advocacy: manage scheduling conflicts, coordinate interpreter services, handle patient complaints, and proactively communicate delays or preparatory needs to improve the patient experience.
Organize onboarding and hands-on competency training for new sonographers and cross-train staff on diverse exam types (OB/GYN, abdominal, small parts, vascular, echo-lite where applicable) to maintain coverage flexibility.
Prepare and present monthly operational reports to department leadership with metrics on volume trends, staffing, equipment downtime, patient satisfaction, and compliance issues; recommend corrective actions.
Manage the ultrasound equipment lifecycle by coordinating preventative maintenance, repair requests, and equipment procurement planning in partnership with biomedical engineering and purchasing.
Ensure compliance with federal, state, and institutional regulations, including HIPAA, patient privacy, accreditation standards (e.g., ACR, Intersocietal Accreditation Commission for vascular labs), and documentation requirements.
Act as the clinical liaison for multi-department projects such as EPIC/EMR upgrades, PACS implementations, or telemedicine integration, representing ultrasound workflow needs and validating acceptance testing.
Maintain accurate logs and registries for vascular lab metrics, fetal measurement tracking, and other departmental registries used for quality monitoring and accreditation processes.
Coordinate contrast-enhanced ultrasound workflow where applicable: maintain contrast inventory, ensure staff training on safety protocols, and document contrast administration and adverse event reporting.
Facilitate communication and case coordination for multidisciplinary conferences (Morbidity & Mortality, tumor boards, vascular conferences), ensuring relevant ultrasound images and reports are available for review.
Support research and clinical trial protocols by coordinating ultrasound scheduling, ensuring standardized image acquisition, and maintaining protocol-specific documentation and equipment calibration records.
Monitor and respond to patient and provider inquiries regarding exam preparation, results reporting timelines, and post-procedure instructions to maintain high clinician and patient satisfaction.

Secondary Functions

Participate in departmental committees focused on quality improvement, patient safety, and operational efficiency; help define and implement measurable improvement projects.
Support ad-hoc audits, compliance reviews, and data requests from leadership by extracting exam volumes, turnaround times, and QA metrics from EMR/PACS.
Serve as backup sonographer for high-demand periods or specialized exams when staffing constraints require clinical coverage.
Contribute to the development and maintenance of training materials, SOPs, and onboarding resources for ultrasound staff and allied personnel.
Collaborate with business office and patient access teams to reduce denials, improve pre-authorization workflows, and streamline patient financial clearances.
Assist in pilot implementation and evaluation of new ultrasound technologies or workflow tools to assess clinical impact and ROI.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Diagnostic ultrasound scanning expertise across multiple exam types (abdominal, obstetric/gynecologic, vascular, small parts, and pelvic imaging).
ARDMS/RDMS, RVT, or equivalent sonography certification; familiarity with registry maintenance and credential verification processes.
Proficient use of PACS and DICOM workflows to retrieve, archive, and export images; familiarity with vendor-specific ultrasound platforms (GE, Philips, Siemens).
Experience with major EMR systems (Epic, Cerner, MEDITECH) including order verification, results posting, and exam documentation.
Scheduling and resource management tools experience (e.g., NextGen, Amkai, QGenda, or hospital scheduling modules).
Working knowledge of CPT/ICD-10 coding for ultrasound studies, including use of modifiers and documentation best practices to support billing.
Quality assurance and accreditation experience (ACR, IAC) including image audits, protocol standardization, and metric reporting.
Strong understanding of infection control standards for ultrasound probes and of high-level disinfection workflows.
Familiarity with privacy and regulatory compliance (HIPAA, state regulations) and ability to enforce secure handling of PHI.
Ability to use MS Office suite for reporting (Excel pivot tables, VLOOKUP), basic data extraction, and presentation (PowerPoint).
Troubleshooting skills for common modality and connectivity issues; ability to coordinate with biomedical engineering and IT for escalations.
Experience managing inventory, vendor relationships, and preventive maintenance schedules for imaging equipment.
Knowledge of contrast-enhanced ultrasound protocols and safety, where applicable.

Soft Skills

Excellent verbal and written communication skills for interactions with physicians, sonographers, patients, and administrative teams.
Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to prioritize competing demands in a fast-paced clinical environment.
Critical thinking and problem-solving mindset; comfortable making triage decisions and process improvements based on data.
Leadership and people-management capabilities including coaching, conflict resolution, and performance feedback.
Customer-service orientation with empathy, patience, and a focus on patient-centered care.
Attention to detail to ensure documentation accuracy and regulatory compliance.
Collaborative team player who works effectively across departments and disciplines.
Adaptability to evolving clinical workflows, technology upgrades, and shifting patient volumes.
Data-driven decision making; comfortable using metrics to drive improvements and report outcomes to stakeholders.
Ethical judgment and professional integrity in handling confidential patient information and clinical concerns.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Associate degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Radiologic Technology, Nursing, or related allied health program.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences, Healthcare Administration, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, or related field preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Radiologic Technology / Medical Imaging
Nursing (ADN/BSN)
Healthcare Administration / Health Informatics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years of hands-on sonography experience; 1–3 years in a coordination, lead, or supervisory role preferred.

Preferred:

3+ years’ experience in a high-volume ultrasound department or vascular lab with demonstrated scheduling/operational leadership.
Prior experience working with EMR (Epic/Cerner) and PACS integrations, credentialing workflows, QA programs, and billing/coding coordination.
ARDMS (RDMS/RDCS/RVT) certification strongly preferred and maintained. BLS certification required by many employers.