Time taken from primary care referral to a specialist centre diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: an opportunity to improve patient outcomes?
Christopher J. Brereton, T Wallis, Michelle Casey, Lynn Fox, Katarina Pontopiddan, D. Richard Laws, J. E. Graves, Vanessa Titmuss, Sarah G. Kearney, S. Rene Evans, A Grove, Samreen Hamid, Luca Richeldi, Katherine Ma O’Reilly, Sophie Fletcher, Mark G. Jones
Abstract
The care of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has been transformed by the widespread approval of antifibrotic therapies [1]. Within primary care-based healthcare systems, the diagnosis of IPF and commencement of antifibrotic therapy typically requires a patient referral from a primary care physician to a respiratory physician in secondary care, with referral then made to a specialist interstitial lung disease (ILD) centre [2]. Following ILD centre review and multidisciplinary team (MDT) discussion, a diagnosis of IPF is made and antifibrotic therapy may be commenced. For patients with IPF, length of time in healthcare systems prior to review in an ILD clinic reflects disease severity and may impact upon patient outcome <https://bit.ly/2TkO26r>