The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) is pleased to announce the formation of the Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards Review Committee.

The Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards Review Committee will provide best practice recommendations on the standards that long-term care facilities should follow when caring for patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation. These Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards form the basis for new healthcare facility accreditation so patients and their families can recognize facilities that meet national standards.

“Long-term mechanical ventilation in alternative care settings is a patient safety issue,” said Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, PPAHS). “In the vast majority of states, there are little to no quality requirements for long-term ventilation facilities, such as Tidal CO2, result tracking, use of advanced technologies or quality monitoring. Additionally, there is no accreditation program focused on this specialty service. As a result, many ventilator dependent/tracheotomy patients receive substandard long-term care.”

Subbarao Potharaju, Director, Marketing Homecare at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, explained the importance of a standard in respiratory care to improve patient outcomes:

“Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is pleased to be part of PPAHS’ efforts to develop benchmark standards to improve the quality of respiratory care and patient outcomes in long-term acute care and qualified care settings.”

Accreditation…