Outcomes of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Are Improved in a Specialty Care Center

Health disparities and treatment approaches in portopulmonary hypertension and idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension: an analysis of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry

“…Recent studies have shown improved PAH outcomes with management at a PHCC 26 . Similarly, we found that treatment differences between IPAH and POPH no longer existed at the first follow‐up visit at a PHCC.…”

“…Recent studies have shown improved PAH outcomes with management at a PHCC. 26 Similarly, we found that treatment differences between IPAH and POPH no longer existed at the first follow up visit at a PHCC. Thus, decreased ERA use at enrollment may be more reflective of community-based treatment of POPH while increased use of ERAs at follow-up may be more reflective of treatment approaches at PHCCs.…”

Improved hospitalization rates in a specialty center for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and pulmonary hypertension

“…6 , 7 In the United States, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association has increased referral efforts to specialty care centers (SCC) with mortality and hospitalization benefits for pulmonary arterial hypertension. 8 , 9 Current guidelines recommend referral to SCC when a Cpc‐PH phenotype develops, but guidelines lack supporting data with IIIc level of evidence. 6…”

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Specialty Care Centers

“…In this issue of CHEST, investigators at the University of Pittsburgh reported their center's experience within the framework of the larger UPMC health network, which encompasses many regional hospitals and clinical practices. 12 Pi and colleagues 12 leveraged the unified electronic medical record to compare outcomes of patients seen (at least once) by a member of the center's team with patients treated entirely outside the center. Certainly, its retrospective design and inevitable missing data limit comparisons and interpretations of analyses, especially as reasons for "not referring" patients to the expert center remain unknown.…”

“…Pi and colleagues 12 should be commended for providing the best real-world evidence supporting center-based care in PAH. Although this is a single-center report and the reasons for the observed differences remain unclear, the outcome differences are still important and should be heeded by practitioners, administrators, payers, and any other individual who has a role in determining patient access to expert care and potential disease-specific therapy.…”