Ready, set, ACTION

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is a member of the Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network (ACTION). There are 58 network sites across the world, according to the ACTION website.

The goal of the network is to “unite and connect the global health care community to improve outcomes for patients with heart failure.”

David Bearl, MD, MA, medical director of the Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Program at Monroe Carell, says the network allows health care institutions to pool their data and evidence-based practices together to determine best therapies and treatment plans.

“When implanting only about six to eight ventricular assist devices per year, especially of different types, it can be hard to learn from those experiences and create evidence-based guidelines and treatment plans. Through ACTION, we can pool our resources for both research purposes as well as quality improvement projects,” Bearl said.

Prior to the recent use in pediatrics of the Impella 5.5 VAD, Bearl, along with Justin Godown, MD, medical director of pediatric cardiomyopathy, reviewed literature on the Impella from collaborations within ACTION, and specifically explored outcomes and survival rates.