The 21st Century Echocardiography Laboratory in Australia and New Zealand: Rapid Evolution of Training and Workforce, Practice and Technology.

Echocardiography is a common and increasingly used noninvasive imaging tool in medicine. In this paper, we imagine the echocardiography laboratory of the future and consider the challenges we face currently, and may face in the future, and how these might be overcome; challenges such as training enough sonographers to meet the increasing demands of the ageing population living with chronic cardiovascular disease and the need for surveillance in other clinical scenarios. We consider the changing qualification framework and the requirements for accreditation and registration in Australia and New Zealand and the potential for migrant sonographers to meet some of the increasing demand. Advanced scopes of practice are likely to be a feature of the future workforce and we consider some of the ways these may evolve. Lastly, we consider how the evolving clinical landscape and technology may change the way echocardiography is delivered.