Big Ideas Theater: Dr. Neil MacIntyre Explains the ABCDEF Bundle
If you work in an ICU, you’ve probably at least heard of the ABCDEF Bundle. Developed by critical care experts who reviewed randomized controlled trials on the ventilator liberation process, the bundle is aimed at getting more patients off mechanical ventilation as quickly as possible through the use of evidence-based strategies. Attendees at AARC Congress […]
ATS, ACCP, Publish New Ventilator Discontinuation Guidelines
New guidelines from the American Thoracic Society and American College of Chest Physicians may provide additional guidance for clinicians like respiratory therapists who manage patients on mechanical ventilation. Developed by a committee of experts, the guidelines are an update to the 2001 CHEST guideline on ventilator liberation and are based on the most recent evidence […]
CHEST 2016 Presenter Emphasizes Importance of RT Role in Home Visits
Patients with chronic lung diseases like COPD and asthma need to make regular visits to their physicians’ offices to maintain control of their conditions. But getting patients to show up for these visits can be a challenge. A new study conducted by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, at Fresno finds just one […]
RTs Celebrate Real Life Heroes
National Respiratory Care Week took place the last week in October, and therapists from Maine to California used the occasion to raise awareness of the profession and the clinicians who play such an integral role in the health and wellbeing of people with respiratory conditions. Here’s a brief look at some of their celebrations — […]
How Do You Use Incentive Spirometry?
The AARC has been asked to disseminate a survey among its membership aimed at finding out how therapists use incentive spirometry on the job. Developed by a medical student as part of a research project, the five-minute survey is also being circulated among nurses. So take a few minutes to weigh in on this important […]
President Walsh Talks Quality, Safety, and Value in Big Ideas Theater
As 2016 winds down, AARC President Brian Walsh, PHD, RRT-NPS, RRT-ACCS, AE-C, RPFT, FAARC, is ramping up efforts to renew the AARC’s focus on quality, safety, and value in 2017. His goals for his two-year term in office, which kicked off during AARC Congress 2016 in San Antonio last month, are heavily based on these three […]
UNICEF Suggests Four Steps to Protect Kids from Air Pollution
Air pollution contributes to the deaths of about 600,000 children under age five every year and nearly one in seven kids — about 300 million — live in areas with toxic levels of air pollution that exceed international guidelines by six times or more. Overall, two billion children live in areas where outdoor air pollution […]
CMS Stuns Pulmonary Community with Significant Drop in Payment for Pulmonary Rehabilitation
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced final rules that update payments to hospitals under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System beginning Jan. 1, 2017 (CY 2017). These rules include payment for Pulmonary Rehabilitation. In setting payment rates under HOPPS, CMS assigns a Status Indicator to each code to determine how payment […]
AARC Partner Invites RTs to Asthma Webcast
AARC partner, the Allergy & Asthma Network, is inviting respiratory therapists to attend an upcoming webcast on “Severe Asthma: Evaluation, Management, and New Advances.” Scheduled for Nov. 15, the free webcast will feature Dr. Bradley Chipps, who will bring clinicians up-to-date on the latest developments in caring for people with the severe form of the […]
COPD National Action Plan: Respiratory Therapists Can Make a Difference
The AARC is proud to submit comments on the first ever COPD National Action Plan developed by the National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (NHLBI). This landmark document is long overdue and advocated by the AARC, COPD Foundation, and many others. The plan came together as a result of a COPD Town Hall meeting held earlier […]
