Development and organization of an interventional pulmonology department

Abstract

Development and organization of an interventional pulmonology department requires careful consideration of many elements, including personnel, equipment, logistics, procedures performed, practice management, institutional vision and biases, practice setting, continued medical education, risk management, communication and fiscal responsibility. In this paper, a patient-centric approach is used to begin addressing these issues and present the strengths, weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages of an interventional pulmonology department.

Value-Based Proposition for a Dedicated Interventional Pulmonology Suite

“…An experienced team consisting of a medical director, a business lead, a lead anesthesiologist, and a lead IP nurse will manage the IP suite (Table 5). 1,2,12 As we move toward value-based care, it will be vital to encourage the performance of procedures that will reduce the length of stay for inpatients and avoid unnecessary admissions. The IP suite should allow procedures to be performed in an efficient and timely manner, which will reduce the time interval between diagnosis and treatment.…”

“…Historically, pulmonologists have practiced traditional pulmonary and critical care medicine and have not prioritized the advancement of pulmonary procedures. 1,2 Many communities have either limited or no access to IP services. Barriers include relatively low reimbursement coupled with increased technical effort, training requirements, and physician time compared with other aspects of practice, such as critical care, evaluation and management services, and sleep medicine.…”

Year in review 2010: Interstitial lung diseases, acute lung injury, sleep, physiology, imaging, bronchoscopic intervention and lung cancer

“…Yarmus and Feller‐Kopman 76 comprehensively reviewed indications for emerging technologies including percutaneous cryotherapy for lung cancer treatment, microdebrider for central airway obstruction, photodynamic therapy for malignant mesothelioma, bronchial thermoplasty for asthma, and new diagnostic imaging technologies such as vibration resonance imaging, confocal endoscopy and optical coherence tomography. Colt 77 also provided valuable insights and recommendations on the development and organization of an interventional pulmonology department.…”