Meena Kalluri

Multidisciplinary ILD Clinic is located in the 3D Kaye Edmonton Clinic. We provide patient centered care for diagnosis and management of all types ILD including IPF, Lymphangioleiomyomatosis and other rare ILDs. We provide full spectrum care from diagnosis and treatments including new anti-fibrotic medications; we work closely with the lung transplant program, pulmonary hypertension service, other colleagues in rheumatology, occupational medicine to ensure best available care is provided to all patients. We provide access to clinical trials, ILD specific pulmonary rehabilitation program, access to patient and caregiver support group & early treatment of symptoms such as shortness of breath and cough along with early integrated palliative care. The clinic is run by Dr.Meena Kalluri (ILD expert) along with a dedicated team of care providers including palliative and pulmonary rehab expert, ILD nurse, dietitian, part time respiratory therapist and social worker when needed. We liaise with AHS Home Living program to help patients live well in their own communities when they return home from clinic even in remote communities. We also offer telehealth appointments for patients who live far away including Northwest territories, Yukon, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. A typical clinic visit can last 2-3 hours for new patients and upto 1 hour for follow up patients. All patients are interviewed by the nurse prior to the clinic using a questionnaire developed by us. This helps us prepare for the clinic visit and ensures we provide tailored services,education and advice to the patients and families. We strongly encourage early caregiver engagement. The unique feature of our clinic is the individualized, patient centered approach using a multidisciplinary model of care. We provide accurate diagnosis of complex conditions, early and easy access to lung transplantation & pulmonary hypertension program when needed , ILD specific pulmonary rehabilitation, patient & caregiver support groups and the option to participate in clinical trials along with multiple opportunities for ongoing education. We actively undertake discussions on advance care planning given the unpredictable nature of IPF, the most common type of ILD. We take time to answer questions and discuss strategies to live well and to prepare for the future. We spend time in educating patients and caregivers on self-management of symptoms and disease. We provide ongoing care from diagnosis through disease progression and end of life care when needed. KEC ILD clinic has been recognized provincially by Alberta Healthcare Services and nationally by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement as an emerging innovation in Palliative and end of life care. Our team has developed innovative strategies to treat shortness of breath and promote better quality of life in IPF. The clinic also has a research arm that undertakes projects to improve care in ILD. Current research projects focus on assessments and treatments of dyspnea and other symptoms in ILD, developing advance care planning for IPF, educational interventions for patients and caregivers, describing the impact of this care model on health outcomes and related economic analysis. The clinic also works closely with several non profit organizations (Edmonton Pulmonary Fibrosis Association, Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, Alberta Lung Association) and the government to advocate and raise awareness of IPF.