July 2022

PULMONARY

TELEHEALTH AND CFTR MODULATORS: ACCELERATING INNOVATIVE MODELS OF CYSTIC FIBROSIS CARE

Featuring: Michelle Prickett, MD

Highlights
  • A diverse and expanding population drives continued evolution of the CF care model.
  • CF care may extend beyond clinic walls with telehealth and other platforms.
  • CF care teams remain central, in coordination with specialists and primary care.
  • Equity means improving care for all and especially for those in greatest need.
  • Enabling shared decision-making entails reducing barriers to respectful partnerships.

Abstract
Better health and longer survival for many people with cystic fibrosis (PwCF) compels the continued evolution of the CF care model. Designed to deliver specialized care for a complex chronic condition, the model is organized around interdisciplinary healthcare teams at dedicated care centers. Introduction of CFTR modulators and the COVID-19 pandemic have catalyzed the model's evolution. Many PwCF on modulator therapies are experiencing better health and considering changes in their daily care routines. Some of the growing number of adults with CF are experiencing age-associated co-morbidities, requiring coordination with new specialists. The pandemic accelerated the use of telehealth, revealing tradeoffs from new configurations of care delivery. Herein we review the implications of these recent shifts and offer recommendations to improve the quality of care coordinated across the interdisciplinary teams and an expanding field of subspecialists, while supporting the ability of the patient to take on greater responsibility in disease management.

​​This article was originally published in Science Direct on July 22, 2022. 
Michelle Prickett, MD, associate professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care in the Department of Medicine.

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