Best Practice Recommendations for Optimizing Care in Structural Heart Programs Using PEARLS

In light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from coast to coast worked together to offer recommendations for best practices in Planning Efficient and Resource Leveraging Systems (PEARLS) in structural heart programs. The entire manuscript was written by Elizabeth M. Perpetua, Kimberly A. Guibone, Patricia A. Keegan, Roseann Palmer, Martina K. Speight, Kornelija Jagnic, Joan Michaels, Rosemarie A. Nguyen, Emily S. Pickett, Dianna Ramsey, Susan J. Schnell, Shing-Chiu Wong, and Mark Reisman and published in May 2021, can be found in Structural Heart. A summary of their best practice recommendations is outlined below.The COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity to refine patient care for structural heart disease (SHD). This evolves around optimal care, informally defined as “the right care for the right patient at the right place at the right time.” A patient’s treatment plan revolves around patient goals and preferences while also weighing risk versus benefit analysis. Additionally recommended when determining a treatment plan are a systemic assessment of Heart Team roles and functions, hospital capacity, and patient and procedural risks that can occur when more resources are used.