Bridging Specialties®

Timely Diagnosis for ILD

Clinicians are focused on one mission—better outcomes for their patients. That’s why we're leveraging the combined strengths of different specialties to tackle a shared goal: shortening the time to diagnosis for interstitial lung diseases (ILDs).

Bridging Specialties: Timely Diagnosis for ILD brings together pulmonologists and primary care physicians to define a clearer clinician-guided approach to diagnosis for ILDs like pulmonary fibrosis (PF).

Closing the diagnosis gap for patients with ILD

Elevating a rare disease: With ILDs affecting 400,000 people in the US, the likelihood of a primary care physician encountering a patient with an ILD is rare—meaning ILDs are often overlooked as a potential diagnosis.

Difficulty in diagnosing: ILDs like PF present with ubiquitous symptoms like dyspnea, cough, and fatigue, which are also common in asthma, COPD, and cardiac diseases. In a survey of 50 patients living with PF, the majority of respondents said their diagnosis took 2 or more years.

Why early diagnosis matters: There is no cure for ILDs that cause lung inflammation and/or permanent scars, but treatments can slow progression and lessen the severity of symptoms, allowing patients to live longer with a higher quality of life.

Expert-based clinical resources


Toolkit on devices

CLINICIAN TOOLKIT


Access tools to help shorten the time to diagnosis

Our ILD Clinician Toolkit contains specific resources focusing on the steps to take when a patient displays signs of ILD. You’ll find expert-created tools like:

  • an ILD-specific patient questionnaire that you can download and use in your practice,
  • an e-learning module reviewing key symptoms (like crackles on auscultation) and suggested patient workups,
  • a decision-making tool that walks you through three patient scenarios,
  • an interactive story where you choose the actions taken by a patient and learn about the impact of each decision, and much more.
ACCESS THE TOOLKIT
Toolkit on devices

white paper icon

WHITE PAPER


Factors driving delays in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Read the results of the clinical survey among pulmonologists and primary care physicians that assessed knowledge and practice of ILD patient care. Learn how we can change the trajectory of diagnosis, treatment, and care for patients with ILDs. Fill out the form for access to this exclusive white paper.


podcast icon

PODCAST


Overcoming barriers to diagnosing ILDs

Listen to three experts from the fields of primary care medicine and pulmonary medicine discuss the barriers to diagnosing ILDs and how we can overcome them. Get the key points from the discussion in the podcast recap here, or hear the full conversation on ReachMD.

Access the full podcast on ReachMD »

Get updates straight to your inbox

Support initiatives like this | Through our philanthropic efforts, CHEST funds programs that help patients access the care they need. MAKE A GIFT TODAY »

STEERING COMMITTEE


Daniel F. Dilling, MD, FCCP

Daniel F. Dilling, MD, FCCP

Professor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Loyola University Chicago

Jessica Glennie, APRN, MSN

Jessica Glennie, APRN, MSN

Nurse Practitioner, Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic, Cleveland Clinic

Timothy Hernandez, MD

Timothy Hernandez, MD

Internal Medicine Physician, Managing Partner, Pasteur Medical Associates, San Antonio, TX

Corey D. Kershaw, MD, FCCP

Corey D. Kershaw, MD, FCCP

Associate Professor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Tejaswini Kulkarni, MD, MPH, FCCP

Tejaswini Kulkarni, MD, MPH, FCCP

Director, Interstitial Lung Disease Program, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

William Lago, MD

William Lago, MD

Family Medicine Physician, Wooster Family Health Center, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Andrew H. Limper, MD, FCCP

Andrew H. Limper, MD, FCCP

Director, Thoracic Disease Research Unit, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, MN

Anoop M. Nambiar, MD, MS, FCCP

Anoop M. Nambiar, MD, MS, FCCP

Founding Director, Center for Interstitial Lung Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Mary Beth Scholand, MD, FCCP

Mary Beth Scholand, MD, FCCP

Director, Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic, University of Utah, Salt Lake City


Learn more about the Steering Committee members »

Founding Sponsor
Three Lakes Foundation

Sustaining Partner
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.