Pulmonary Hypertension Care Center Network: Improving Care and Outcomes in Pulmonary Hypertension.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic, progressive, life-threatening disease that requires expert multidisciplinary care. To facilitate this level of care, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association established across the United States a network of pulmonary hypertension care centers (PHCCs) with special expertise in PH, particularly pulmonary arterial hypertension, to raise the overall quality of care and outcomes for patients with this life-threatening disease. Since the inception of PHCCs in September 2014, to date 35 centers have been accredited in the United States. This model of care brings together physicians and specialists from other disciplines to provide care, facilitate basic and clinical research, and educate the next generation of providers. PHCCs also offer additional opportunities for improvements in PH care. The patient registry offered through the PHCCs is an organized system by which data are collected to evaluate the outcomes of patients with PH. This registry helps in detecting variations in outcomes across centers, thus identifying opportunities for improvement. Multiple tactics were undertaken to implement the strategic plan, training, and tools throughout the PHCC network. In addition, strategies to foster collaboration between care center staff and individuals with PH and their families are the cornerstone of the PHCCs. The Pulmonary Vascular Network of the American College of Chest Physicians believes this to be a positive step that will improve the quality of care delivered in the United States to patients with PH.
Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY; Department of Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX. Electronic address: ssahay@houstonmethodist.org.
Sandeep
S
Sahay
Pulmonary Hypertension Program and Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
Lana
L
Melendres-Groves
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, SUNY, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY.
Leena
L
Pawar
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
Hector R
HR
Cajigas
D019058:Community Networks / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019468:Disease Management; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012042:Registries; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
PHCCs; outcomes; pulmonary arterial hypertension; pulmonary hypertension; pulmonary hypertension care centers