Take a sneak peek at new CHEST initiatives

Gain unique insights into how CHEST is working to improve patient care with two livestreamed sessions at CHEST 2022. Whether you’re attending on-site or can only access this education online, you’ll want to mark your calendar for these opportunities to learn more about how CHEST is fostering collaborations to improve the lives of patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) and how you can cultivate a more trusting patient-physician relationship, 5 minutes at a time.

Combining the strengths of different specialties to improve patient care

In April, CHEST and Three Lakes Foundation announced that they had joined together to launch a collaborative initiative that leverages the combined strengths of different specialties to tackle a shared goal: shortening the time to diagnosis for ILDs.

Bridging Specialties™: Timely Diagnosis for ILD Patients brings together pulmonologists and primary care physicians to define a clearer clinician-guided approach to identifying ILDs like pulmonary fibrosis (PF).

In the session Bridging Specialties™: Timely Diagnosis for ILD Patients, Sunday, October 16, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CT, faculty will describe the findings of the recently published CHEST Clinical Perspectives™ white paper analyzing the results of two surveys with 306 primary care physicians and 100 pulmonologists addressing current practice in recognizing ILDs. The session also will cover highlights from a recently launched toolkit that addresses the gaps uncovered by the white paper findings.

The Bridging Specialties initiative was inspired by the experiences of patients who faced significant delays in getting their disease diagnosed and starting the right treatment.

ILDs affect approximately 400,000 people in the United States, meaning the likelihood of a primary care physician interacting with a patient with one of these diseases is rare. ILDs also present with a variety of common symptoms, including dyspnea, cough, and fatigue, which are also common in asthma, COPD, and cardiac diseases.

Because of these factors, diagnosis for patients with these diseases may be significantly delayed, resulting in irreversible lung damage before treatment can begin. In fact, in a survey of 50 patients with PF, the majority of respondents said their ILD diagnosis took 2 years or more.

However, through this unique partnership between specialties, primary care physicians and pulmonologists can work to improve awareness of, and decrease the time to diagnosis for, ILDs.

Learn more about the Bridging Specialties initiative.

In partnership with Three Lakes Foundation


Minimal practice changes, major patient impact

In June 2022, CHEST piloted a program called the First 5 Minutes™ in San Antonio where clinicians participated in an interactive training focused on empathetic listening and trust-building communication skills. At CHEST 2022, you will have the opportunity to experience a sneak peek of this important training before it rolls out nationwide via e-learning modules and virtual reality scenarios.

In the interactive session Changing Patient Outcomes – 5 Minutes at a Time, Monday, October 17, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CT, expert faculty from CHEST and the Academy of Communication in Healthcare will share research-proven techniques to help clinicians establish a connection with their patients more quickly and more meaningfully. You’ll get to practice empathetic listening skills with fellow attendees, and learn how establishing trust with your patients in the first 5 minutes of your interactions can lead to more efficient communication and improve patient adherence.

Led by relationship-centered communication trainers from the Academy of Communication in Healthcare, the First 5 Minutes™ training concept was inspired by the 2020 Listening Tour, during which the CHEST Foundation virtually visited five cities across the United States to understand the challenges that patients face in accessing health care, particularly in marginalized communities. The message was clear: They experience a lack of access, equity, and trust.

Driven to action, CHEST set out to address these barriers. Empathetic listening training emerged as the solution to build trust between patients and clinicians and improve the patient experience. The resulting First 5 Minutes™ program helps clinicians build the skills necessary to develop and foster a positive relationship with their patients from the first interaction.

The skills are evidence-based and proven to help develop trust. Small changes in the clinicians’ approach can give them time back in the day. Establishing trust with patients in the first 5 minutes of the interactions leads to more efficient communication. Plus, with improved communication, clinicians also see greater patient compliance, and it often takes less effort to help patients more.

Learn more about the First 5 Minutes initiative.

CHEST gratefully acknowledges the following founding supporters of the First 5 Minutes™: Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bexar County, Novartis, Regeneron, Sanofi, and VIATRIS.