Pulmonary Embolism Response Teams: One Hospital's Experience

The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in treatment options for pulmonary embolism, including catheter-directed and surgical interventions, which require multispecialty input. Massachusetts General Hospital established a multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism response team (PERT) that clinicians could consult in real time for patients with suspected or confirmed PE. Dialing a dedicated number would generate a response from one team member who would decide whether to convene the entire team in real time via online meeting software. Team members included specialists in cardiology, emergency medicine, critical care, cardiac surgery, echocardiography, radiology, and vascular medicine.

In the first 30 months, the team was activated 394 times,…