Thomas Jefferson University Hospital will join 18 other transplant hospitals in the United States in a pilot program aimed at maximizing the nation's capacity for kindey transplantion.
As part of the three-year Collaborative Innovation and Improvement Network (COIIN), Jefferson will participate in programs that seek an alternative framework for organ offer and acceptance, waitlist management, care coordination and quality monitoring.
“The Jefferson Transplant Institute is thrilled to participate in this pilot study alongside our colleagues at other premier transplant programs and UNOS,” said Cataldo Doria, director of Jefferson’s Transplant Institute. “With more than 100,000 Americans waiting for a kidney, this project is needed more than ever. We hope to maximize transplantation by identifying best practices that can be used by all transplant centers.”
Each of the pilot hospitals participating in COIIN will develop and test improvement measures during successive rapid cycles. They will share and compare their results on an interactive, virtual learning site.
“The hospitals participating in the pilot program have had success using kidneys that are not accepted as often by other transplant programs across the country,“ said David Klassen, MD, chair of the COIIN Advisory Council and UNOS Chief Medical Officer. “The practices they have found to be effective can be shared with others to increase the number of transplants nationwide.”
Data collection and collaboration on the program, funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, will begin in early 2017.