Patient-Reported Outcome Study of Project ECHO for ILD

Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a knowledge-sharing model to expand the capacity of the health care workforce so that more people can get high quality care for their health conditions in or near the communities where they live. The model brings specialty disease expertise to community providers through its hub-and-spoke networks. The model relies on videoconferencing to connect local providers in non-urban or underserved communities (spoke sites) with an interdisciplinary team of specialist providers at academic medical centers (hubs) during virtual "teleECHO" clinic sessions, which include brief educational lectures and case-based, experiential learning.

The ECHO model addresses barriers of long wait times for a first appointment, the time and expense associated with long distance travel, and the disinclination to follow through on repeated care appointments in the face of these persistent barriers, all with the additional objective of achieving health equity. Most patients perceive the diagnostic and care pathways in ILDs as a major struggle because of lack of awareness about the diseases, delayed access to specialty centers, providers' focus on disease- versus patient-centered care, and lack of reliable information and education about the diseases and supportive care resources.