• Kim D French, Neeraj R Desai, Edward Diamond, and Kevin L Kovitz.
• Suburban Lung Associates, Elk Grove Village, IL; Chicago Chest Center, Elk Grove Village, IL.
• Chest. 2016 Apr 1; 149 (4): 1094-101.

AbstractInterventional pulmonology (IP) is a field that uses minimally invasive techniques to diagnose, treat, and palliate advanced lung disease. Technology, formal training, and reimbursement for IP procedures have been slow to catch up with other interventional subspecialty areas. A byproduct of this pattern has been limited IP integration in private practice settings. We describe the key aspects and programmatic challenges of building an IP program in a community-based setting. A philosophical and financial buy-in by stakeholders and a regionalization of services, within and external to a larger practice, are crucial to success. Our experience demonstrates that a successful launch of an IP program increases overall visits as well as procedural volume without cannibalizing existing practice volume. We hope this might encourage others to provide this valuable service to their own communities.Copyright © 2016 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

23 keywords...

hide…