The Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s (PHA’s) PH Care Centers (PHCC) Program recently accredited five new centers in support of its commitment to promoting quality care practices through PH center accreditation. Interest in PHA’s continuous quality improvement initiative remains high as PH programs seek accreditation as Centers of Comprehensive Care (CCC) and Regional Clinical Programs (RCP). As of April 2019, there are a total of 67 PHA-accredited PH programs — nine adult RCPs, eight pediatric and 50 adult CCCs in 30 states.

Recently accredited programs include:

A robust number of new applications are currently under review by the PHCC Review Committee, and established programs have started to complete the reaccreditation process. Congratulations to the following centers re-accredited as PHA-accredited Centers of Comprehensive Care for continuing to provide high standards of PH care for their established and new PAH and CTEPH patients.

Applicant programs utilize the opportunity to openly and honestly discuss the complex medical management required to care for people with PAH and CTEPH with field leaders, as well as practice patterns and protocols used by the applicant center. Both CCCs and RCPs demonstrate collaborative care with other PH centers to provide the best possible care for the patients they serve.

To view the full list of accredited centers, visit PHCC Accredited Adult Centers and PHCC Accredited Pediatric Centers.

PHA Registry – Over 850 Enrolled!

PHA-accredited PHCCs can also enroll patients into the PHA Registry (PHAR). In March 2019, the PHAR reached a new milestone — enrolling more than 850 individuals with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) for participation from 43 institutional review board-approved clinical sites in 19 states.

PHAR data encompass many areas, including demographic characteristics, diagnosis and treatment information and quality-of-care metrics. Data from PHAR clinical sites have already produced several academic contributions, such as articles, abstracts and presentations. PHA Registry data will be presented in at least five posters at the following meetings:

  • International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation 2019, Orlando, Fla.
    • Demographic, Hemodynamic, and HRQL (health-related quality of life) Differences between Methamphetamine-Associated and Idiopathic PAH: The Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry
  • American Thoracic Society 2019, Dallas
    • Increasing Age Is Associated with Worsening Physical Function Despite More Favorable Cardiopulmonary Hemodynamics: A Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry (PHAR) Report
    • Intersecting identities and patient outcomes in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Early Results in Derivation of a Model Using the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry (PHAR)
    • Nurse staffing and the quality of life and outcomes of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: The Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry
    • Obesity and quality of life in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH): The Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry (PHAR)

Visit the PHAR webpage to see past publications using PHCC and PHAR data.