Caring for patients with advanced lung disease requires significant infrastructure and special physician expertise. To assist general pulmonologists in smaller Texas communities, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas (Baylor Dallas), part of Baylor Scott & White Health, has established outreach clinics in Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock and Tyler.
Pulmonary medicine physicians on the medical staff at Baylor Dallas will evaluate patients who have been referred by their local physicians for lung transplant. They will also see patients with pulmonary hypertension and idiopathic lung disease in some locations.
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“Due to the extensive ancillary support required, many physicians struggle with managing patients with conditions like pulmonary hypertension or pulmonary fibrosis. There are many medications that are effective, but they require a great deal of time to coordinate with specialty pharmacy,” says Michael Duncan, MD, chief of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Baylor Dallas. “And it is not easy for many patients to come to the large cities where the lung transplant programs are. We will go to them for as many services as we can, and then only bring them to Dallas for advanced care, such as the actual lung transplant.”
Current plans are to see patients in the outreach clinics once a month. As patient volumes grow, the frequency of outreach visits will increase.
