Introduction to the Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Joint ACCP/AACVPR Evidence-Based Guidelines

The publication of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Joint ACCP/AACVPR Evidence-Based Guidelines in this issue of the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation represents a unique and extraordinary effort by a hardworking group of dedicated professionals under the joint sponsorship of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) and the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). We certainly hope that this document will be an important and helpful resource to all those pursuing the interests of our patients with chronic lung disease through pulmonary rehabilitation. Dr. Sydney Parker, Director of the ACCP Health and Science Policy Department, in conjunction with the Health and Science Policy Committee, deserve our thanks and credit for initiating this project and pushing it forward on a most ambitious timetable-less than 2 years from a glimmer of an idea to a published document. The Boards of both the AACVPR and ACCP recognized the important value of collaboration and demonstrated a willingness to work together toward common goals. Most of all, we owe thanks to the members of the ACCP/AACVPR Pulmonary Rehabilitation Guidelines Panel, dedicated professionals who volunteered their time and effort, stuck to deadlines, and were able to complete this remarkable document with only one face-to-face meeting: AACVPR Representatives Brian Carlin, Virginia Carrieri-Kohlman, Charles Emery, and John Hodgkin; ACCP Representatives Richard Casaburi, Bartolome Celli, Donald Mahler, and Barry Make; and Judah Skolnick, Liaison to the ACCP Health and Science Policy Committee. The administrative job performed by Barbi Mathesius and Beth Welch from ACCP was remarkable: I still do not know how they managed to make and edit all of those tables! Finally, thanks to Kathy Berra, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, and Robin Brown, Executive Director of AACVPR, who arranged to copublish this document with Chest so that it would be readily available to the AACVPR membership.