Why the study?
Many patients with heart valve disease are managed by clinicians without specialist competencies, leading to suboptimal outcomes despite consensus on management.
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Design
Review
May support specialized valve clinics to optimize care timing; leaves open prospective validation of outcomes.
There is consensus on important aspects of managing heart valve disease. Despite this, many patients are managed by general physicians or cardiologists without specialist competencies in valve disease, which leads to suboptimal outcomes. Multidisciplinary heart valve clinics bring together cardiologists, surgeons, nurses, and in some countries scientists to deliver expert guidelines and experience-driven optimal care. Patients are referred at the optimal time for interventions at heart valve centers, defined by strict standards of facilities and processes. Valve networks link valve clinic, heart valve center, and the community to improve the passage of patients at every level of care.
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Chambers et al. (2019) studied this question.
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