Silver Spring, Md. (July 21, 2016) – The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) is pleased to announce the addition of two more Centers of Comprehensive Care (CCC) to serve the needs of individuals living with pulmonary hypertension (PH). As the Pulmonary Hypertension Care Centers (PHCC) program continues to grow, more people living with PH will receive care from accredited centers that have demonstrated an ability to properly diagnose the disease and have the capability to manage patients in need of complex care.
PH is increased pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs. It is a chronic and life-changing disease that can lead to right heart failure. Common symptoms of PH can include shortness of breath, fatigue and chest pain. Consequently, the disease is often misdiagnosed and treated as another illness, such as asthma or COPD. Delays in diagnosis and treatment cost patients valuable time. Once considered rapidly fatal, pulmonary arterial hypertension, one type of PH, can now be treated with many targeted treatment options.
Accreditation criteria for the program are based on key measures of care for PH patients. These measures include the program’s overall commitment to PH patients, scope of services provided and expertise of care team. PHA plans to phase the accreditation in over the course of three to four years. Two types of centers will be accredited—Centers of Comprehensive Care and Regional Clinical Programs (RCP). The PHCC program advances PHA’s mission of extending and improving the lives of people living with PH.
Since the launch of the PHCC program in 2014, 41 CCC programs have now been accredited in 24 states. These programs include 36 adult programs and five pediatric programs. The two newly accredited PHCCs are:
- Houston Methodist Pulmonary Hypertension Program—Houston, Texas
- University of Rochester Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Program—Rochester, NY
As centers are accredited, they also agree to contribute to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry (PHAR). This innovative patient registry will collect and track diagnostic and treatment patterns at a national level and help researchers learn more about the rare disease and possibly lead to new breakthroughs in treatment and quality of care. PHA designed its PHCC and PHAR initiatives to raise the level of care for patients living with PH.
PHA’s Scientific Leadership Council (SLC) and the PHCC Oversight Committee set the criteria for PHCC accreditation. The SLC is composed of global leaders in the field of pulmonary hypertension including healthcare professionals and research scientists in medical centers recognized for excellence in care for patients with PH. For more information on PHCC, go to www.PHCareCenters.org or email PHCC@PHAssociation.org. For more information on the PHAR initiative, visit www.PHAssociation.org/PHAR.
About the Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., with a growing list of chapters across the country, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) is the country’s leading pulmonary hypertension organization. Its mission is to extend and improve the lives of those affected by PH; its vision is a world without PH, empowered by hope. PHA achieves this by connecting and working together with the entire PH community of patients, families and medical professionals. Among its programs, PHA facilitates more than 245 support groups around the country and delivers continuing education for medical professionals through PHA Online University. For more information, please go to www.PHAssociation.org, @PHAssociation on Twitter and www.facebook.com/PulmonaryHypertensionAssociation on Facebook.
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