OLD LYME, CT — FEBRUARY 20, 2014 — The PILOT™ (Pulmonary Fibrosis Identification: Lessons for Optimizing Treatment) initiative, a cornerstone in IPF education for almost a decade, will be expanding its educational offerings in 2014 with educational grant support from Boehringer Ingelheim and InterMune. “I am honored to be a part of this very important initiative in providing education about IPF, a disease that is often difficult to diagnose and for which effective treatments are currently lacking,” commented Dr. Steven Nathan, Medical Director of the Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital. “This is a particularly exciting time in the field since the results from a number of pivotal treatment trials are due to be released in the near future.” Dr. Nathan is also the Chair of the PILOT 2014 initiative.
“PILOT provides clinicians the most current and up-to-date information regarding the diagnosis and management of this devastating disease,” said Dr. Theodore Bruno, Chief Medical Officer of The France Foundation. “For the past 9 years, PILOT has been a key source of quality continuing education in IPF with over 12 million hits to its Web site. The France Foundation is excited that we will continue providing this much needed education, especially during a time we expect to learn more and perhaps be provided new revelations in this therapeutic area.”
The first educational offerings from PILOT 2014 will be a panel discussion during a satellite symposium at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) annual meeting in May in San Diego. This will be one of the first opportunities for clinicians to discuss the new findings from major clinical trials. As ATS 2014 will be offering a wealth of new information regarding IPF, PILOT will be providing information for clinicians who are not able to attend the live meeting. Numerous additional CME certified educational opportunities will follow throughout the year. PILOT will be seeking to collaborate with Interstitial Lung Disease centers and local pulmonology organizations to bring education to clinicians at the local level. Visit the PILOT Web site to see if a program will be available in your area or if you are interested in collaborating on a local program.
About PILOT™
PILOT is an award-winning national education initiative designed to provide physicians with comprehensive continuing medical education activities that focuses on the early and accurate diagnosis of IPF while also addressing critical issues related to optimizing disease intervention and management. In 2007 the American Thoracic Society gave the PILOT™ Web site a highly favorable review as a best-available and excellent online clinical resource for interstitial lung disease. PILOT also received a first place award in the category of Clinical Resource Center Outstanding Educational Activity in Professional Development as bestowed by the leadership of the American College of CHEST Physicians (ACCP) at their 2009 annual meeting.
PILOT has attained a level of recognition and credibility across practitioner and patient communities that place it as one of the primary sources for timely and innovative education on IPF. In the 9 years since its launch, PILOT has had over 12 million hits to its Web site. The PILOT™ Web site can be accessed at www.pilotforpulmonary.org. The content and education assumes baseline knowledge one would have as a clinician trained in pulmonary diseases and clinically active in managing patients. New educational modules are being added to the initiative.
About IPF
IPF is an irreversible, unpredictable, and ultimately fatal disease characterized by scarring (fibrosis) in the lungs, hindering the ability to process oxygen. IPF leads to worsening lung function and exercise tolerance, and shortness of breath. Every IPF patient follows a different and unpredictable course and it is not possible to predict if a patient will progress slowly or rapidly, or when the rate of decline may change. Periods of transient clinical stability in IPF, should they occur, give way to continued disease progression. The median survival time from diagnosis is two to five years, with a five-year survival rate of approximately 20-40 percent, which makes IPF more rapidly lethal than many malignancies, including breast, ovarian and colorectal cancers. IPF typically occurs in patients over the age of 45, and tends to affect slightly more men than women.
About The France Foundation
Since its inception in 1999, The France Foundation has been at the forefront of planning, developing, and implementing multidisciplinary accredited medical education. TFF specializes in curriculum-based education and in educational collaborations that improve providers’ knowledge, competence, and practical performance to ultimately improve the care practices provide. The France Foundation is accredited with commendation by the ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education) and by the ACPE (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education) to provide CME credit for physicians and pharmacists respectively.
For more information please go to www.francefoundation.com.
