SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) today announced that it has partnered with Cerner Health Insights, a business division of Cerner Corp., to develop evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a devastating and ultimately fatal lung disease affecting more than 83,000 Americans.
The goal of the CPF’s partnership with Cerner Health Insights clinicians was to create a more current set of treatment guidelines for IPF based upon available clinical evidence. The CPF funded this project in support of its mission to advance efforts to improve IPF treatment standards in the clinical community, and ultimately improve the quality of care for IPF patients nationwide.
These guidelines, titled A Critical Assessment of Treatment Options for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, were recently published in the October 2005 issue of the Journal of Sarcoidosis, Vasculitis, & Diffuse Lung Diseases (2005; 22: 167-174), a globally respected peer-reviewed medical journal. These guidelines will also be available on the CPF’s web page in early 2006 through a web-based clinical decision-making tool for medical professionals.
The following pulmonary experts participated in this project: -- Melissa Rhodes, M.D., Georgia Lung Associates -- Robert Jackson, M.D., University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center -- Talmadge E. King, M.D., University of California - San Francisco Medical Center -- Steven Nathan, M.D., Inova Fairfax Hospital -- Paul Noble, M.D., Yale University School of Medicine -- Maria Padilla, M.D., North Shore University Hospital -- Ganesh Raghu, M.D., University of Washington School of Medicine -- Marvin Schwarz, M.D., University of Colorado Health Sciences Center -- Gregory Tino, M.D., University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Under the direction of Cerner Health Insights senior vice president and principal investigator Robert DuBois, M.D., PhD., this program employed the well-validated RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method. This method is a carefully designed approach to develop detailed guidelines for managing patients. An expert panel of pulmonary physicians reviewed over 300 case scenarios. Each scenario represented a different clinical presentation (e.g., younger patient with mild disease who had not previously received therapy vs. an older patient with more advanced disease who had tried various therapeutic options). After evaluating evidence from the scientific literature, panelists rated the appropriateness of various therapies for each scenario using a 9-point scale (9 = very appropriate therapy; 1 = very inappropriate therapy; 5 = Uncertain). The ratings weighed the potential benefits with the potential risk of each therapy. These guidelines will assist physicians in deciding how to care for patients with specific clinical characteristics of IPF.
For further information about the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis and its ongoing research and professional education efforts for IPF, please visit our web page at http://www.coalitionforpf.org or call 888-222-8541.
About Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
IPF is a devastating and ultimately fatal lung disorder that often goes misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. It is characterized by a progressive scarring -- known as fibrosis -- and deterioration of the lungs which slowly robs its victims of their ability to breathe. For the approximately 83,000 Americans who suffer from IPF -- nearly double the number of cystic fibrosis patients -- there is currently no known cause or cure. IPF is difficult to diagnose and an estimated two-thirds of patients die within five years of diagnosis.
About the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis
The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 2001 to further education, patient support and research efforts for interstitial lung disease, and specifically pulmonary fibrosis. The CPF is governed by the nation’s leading pulmonologists, individuals affected by pulmonary fibrosis, medical research professionals and advocacy organizations. With more than 8,500 members nationwide, the CPF is the largest nonprofit organization in the country dedicated to helping those with pulmonary fibrosis. The CPF’s nonprofit partners include the Caring Voice Coalition, the Genetic Alliance, the Mary D. Harris Memorial Foundation, the National Coalition of Autoimmune Patient Groups, the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), The Pulmonary Paper, the Second Wind Lung Transplant Association, and more than 30 leading medical and research centers nationwide.
About Cerner Health Insights
Cerner Health Insights, a business division of Cerner Corp., has developed evidence-based solutions for improving the quality of care, reducing medical errors, and controlling costs. Cerner Health Insights’ solutions have been shown to work in “real world” settings and can be customized to the local level. Cerner Health Insights is successfully providing tools to help organizations face the onslaught of financial and regulatory pressures and distinguish themselves as leaders capable of delivering quality medical services in a cost-effective manner. Visit Cerner Health Insights at http://www.Cerner.com/chi .
About Cerner Corp.
Cerner Corp. is taking the paper chart out of healthcare, eliminating error, variance and waste in the care process. With more than 1,500 clients worldwide, Cerner is the leading supplier of healthcare information technology. The following are trademarks of Cerner: Cerner, Cerner’s logo. . http://www.cerner.com .
The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis
CONTACT: Mark Shreve for The Coalition of Pulmonary Fibrosis,+1-888-222-8541, info@coalitionforpf.org
