Developing a Successful Pulmonary Embolism (PE) Programme
Establishing a Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT)
The high degree of variability in patient presentation and outcome from pulmonary embolism makes it a disease process that requires a multidisciplinary approach. In order to facilitate a rapid, robust response to the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, it is important to establish a multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism response team (PERT) that allows for shared ownership of the PE pathway.
The PERT model, otherwise known as the circle strategy, is based on existing multidisciplinary teams such as heart teams and rapid response teams. A PERT is composed of clinicians from the range of specialties involved in the treatment of PE, including pulmonology, critical care, interventional radiology, cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, among others.
*Treater (EKOS User): Clinicians treating with EKOS are typically interventional cardiologists, interventional radiologists, cardiothoracic, cardiovascular or vascular surgeons.
A PERT serves as a 24/7 consult service that is able to provide expert advice on the initial management of PE patients and convene in real time to develop a consensus treatment plan specifically tailored to the needs of a particular patient and consistent with the capabilities of the institution.1
Building a Circle Strategy
Why is it important?
Acute pulmonary embolism is a common, potentially life-threatening disease.2 In patients with acute pulmonary embolism, the risk of death is particularly high in the first days and then declines over time.3
Multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism response teams have two primary goals:
- Enable earlier diagnosis of intermediate and high-risk pulmonary patients.
- Reduce variations in practice and develop standardized protocols of care.
Listen to BSC Education specialist Leo Buitelaar talk about the importance of the circle strategy for diagnosing and treating pulmonary embolism.
Watch Video >
Professor Laurent Bonello, Head of ICU and PERT Team at the University Hospital Nord Marseille, France, talks about why it’s taken so long to improve standards of PE treatment, and the challenges involved in building a PERT.
Listen to Dr. Bonello >
Dr Nick Murch, Consultant Physician in Acute Medicine, Royal Free London, UK, discusses the challenges in diagnosing pulmonary embolism, and what PERTs can bring to building the right pathway for patients.
Listen to Dr. Murch >