CHALLENGE:

Bronchiectasis is a condition that can cause permanent changes to the airway structures that transport oxygen in and out of the lungs.  There are approximately 400,000 diagnosed cases in the United States today, and it’s estimated that there may be as many as 4.5 million undiagnosed individuals.  While there are no FDA-approved medicines for people with bronchiectasis, the data show that adding an airway clearance device to their daily routine can improve patient outcomes.  However, this efficacious treatment option is often overlooked. 

 

SOLUTION:

To address this long-standing educational gap with patients and clinicians, SPARK created the IMPACT (Individual Management of Patient Airway Clearance Therapy) Program in close collaboration with a dozen leading pulmonary care and behavioral health professionals.  Sponsored by International Biophysics Corporation, manufacturer of the AffloVest, IMPACT consists of a robust toolkit for providers to use with patients in the clinical setting, a website (www.IMPACT-BE.com), and an educational video library for patient education.

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RESULTS:

Having been formally adopted by dozens of pulmonary care teams around the country including some of the largest and most accomplished bronchiectasis programs IMPACT is on its way to becoming standard of care for this underserved patient community.  The program has been praised by the NTM Foundation as “a valuable and critical component of care for the Bronchiectasis community” and individual instruments from IMPACT are currently being used in two randomized controlled studies.

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