Context
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a pathology that shares general symptoms with many others. This increases the risk of misdiagnosis. Ten years ago, our client, a pharmaceutical company, conducted a study. Together with a key opinion leader (KOL), it concluded that patients suffering from PH were more often diagnosed late — or not at all. Diagnostic signs were missed because specific heart structures were examined less frequently than others.
The client and the KOL subsequently published a series of guidelines to improve the detection of PH via echocardiography.
In 2024, both wanted to investigate the extent to which PH detection via echocardiography had changed over the years.
Approach
Optigage led the follow-up study into current clinical practice. The main objectives were:
- Identifying which heart structures and parameters cardiologists examine via echocardiography to investigate the likelihood of pulmonary hypertension.
- Checking whether scientifically proven echocardiographic signs for PH are sufficiently investigated.
- Investigating whether the diagnosis is made according to the cut-off values in the guidelines.
These topics were surveyed among the cardiology community in Belgium. A comprehensive set of results, conclusions, and recommendations was structured around the components of the heart.
Results
Through this research, we helped our client “go beyond the pill.” This means finding ways to be more actively involved in daily practices of healthcare providers, to deliver more patient-centred care, and to improve the patient experience.
The report and recommendations can be used to further develop cardiologists’ awareness and to improve guidelines to detect PH through echocardiography.
This also provides valuable input for a series of follow-up actions:
- Scientific publication on the current use of echocardiography in the detection of PH.
- Advisory boards to gain more insight into hypotheses and decision-making dynamics toward development of future healthcare policy.
- Creation of an information product to inform doctors, nurses and patients.
