Interventional Pulmonology in 2015: A Survey of Practice Patterns and Future Directions of this Emerging Field

Background: Interventional Pulmonology (IP) training through formal fellowship programs have become increasingly popular over the last several years. There is a dearth of data on the current practice of IP in the United States. The objective of this study was to identify the practice patterns of current IP practitioners. Methods: We sent a survey to the members of the American Association of Bronchology and In- terventional Pulmonology (AABIP) – the largest association of American IP practitioners. We analyzed the responses and stratified the responses to compare, when possible, how the practice patterns of the IP fellowship trained physicians varied from those who did not undergo formal fellowship training. Results: We received a reply from 97 individuals. There was a noticeable difference in the practice patterns of respondents who had undergone fellowship training in IP versus those who had not, particularly with respect to volume and diversity of procedures performed. A small percentage of respondents appeared responsible for most of the advanced therapeutic procedures as well as on going research in the field of IP.