New EHRA programme to review training of medical device industry

An education programme aiming to prepare industry employees to support health care professionals during procedures related to diagnosing and treating abnormal heart rhythm conditions, has been announced by the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA).

“Our ultimate aim is to ensure optimal care for our patients. Health care professionals need to keep up to date with the latest technology available, and to offer patients access to the best healthcare at reasonable costs. We are also increasingly short of time. By working with medical device manufacturers we can help educate their employees to understand what is critical to ensuring optimal care for our patients,” said Prof. Josep Brugada, Past-President of the European Heart Rhythm Association.

The first company joining this scheme is St. Jude Medical. EHRA worked together with St. Jude Medical to set up the Atrial fibrillation (AF) and Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) employee training programme.

The courses reviewed by EHRA focus on disease management and providing optimal solutions and medical therapy for patients, putting more control in the hands of health care professionals. They are delivered at the St. Jude Medical Advanced Learning Center in Brussels, Belgium. Prof. Pierre Jaïs and Prof. Philippe Ritter of Bordeaux, France, jointly reviewed all the educational programmes to ensure they met EHRA standards of quality.

“In addition to company technologies, this employee programme extensively addresses fundamental electrophysiology (evidence-based medicine, epidemiology, disease management), which was the main reviewing priority for EHRA”, explained Prof. Jaïs.

“We hope this new EHRA programme will ensure health professionals are offered the most efficient alternatives in order to ensure that patients receive the best level of care”, concludes Prof Brugada.  More companies will be joining this programme in future.