About the American Transradial Association

For interventional/endovascular procedures, inserting a catheter through the radial artery in the arm appears to be linked to a lower rate of bleeding complications than the standard route through the femoral artery in the groin as well as increased patient satisfaction and preference. Currently for all catheter procedures in the United States, the radial artery is used for access only <5% of the time. In many other countries, the radial artery is used for access in catheter procedures 50-90% of the time.

The American Transradial Association was formed to promote transradial interventions in the United States and internationally for the benefit of patients and those healthcare providers who choose to utilize this method of vascular access for interventional/endovascular procedures. We have been producing transradial education programs since 2005, with our first program for interventional cardiology fellows in Philadelphia.

TRI is a rare combination of a low-tech, lower cost, safer, and more patient comfort-oriented clinical option that is vastly underutilized in this country and simply needs technique training for physicians and nurses/techs to increase its usage

The benefits of Transradial Interventions (TRI) vs. Transfemoral Interventions (TFI) for interventional/endovascular procedures can be summarized as:

• Reduced access site bleeding complications by 75% compared to femoral access
• Reduced cost of interventional procedures because of reduced device cost, reduced complications, reduced length of hospital stay
• Earlier mobility of patients
  • Reduced length of hospital stay
  • Earlier return to productivity of patients after a procedure
• Reduced intensity of post-procedure care
• Enables interventional procedures to be completed as an outpatient
• More comfortable for patients
• Certain patient populations are recognized for being at higher risk for complications, i.e. women are 70% more likely to bleed than men, obese patients present significant procedural challenges, and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients have an increased chance of bleeding peri-procedurally

In summary, TRI can facilitate a safer, better quality outcome through reduced complications and faster return to normal activities.

The goals of the TransRadial Institute regarding TRIfor the United States include:

• Position TRI as a healthcare reform initiative that can save money through reduced complications, resources, and costs of vascular closure devices while improving patient quality outcomes
• Increase TRI utilization during PCI to 20-30% (10x increase) in the USA by 2013 and 50% by 2020.
• Advocate for a CMS mandate for:
  • Incentive payments when TRI is utilized
  • Decreased reimbursements for treatment of bleeding complications arising from TFI
  • Fairer compensation for outpatient catheter-based procedures to compensate for hospitals losing reimbursements for an overnight hospital stay
• Provide education in how TRI can increase the Medicare “Value Index” of a hospital as per the Medicare Payment Fairness Act
• Advocate for TRI to become a Class I recommendation in established guidelines
• Advocate for an NIH Consensus Development Program (CDP) to address the issue of TRI vs. TFI
  Advocate for TRI utilization in peripheral procedures
• Promote medical device development for use in TRI
• Educate patients regarding the benefits of TRI and urge them to request it during interventional procedures
• Work with societies to establish guidelines for TRI training courses
• Provide TRI training to all interventional fellows starting in 2011
• Establish a TRI training infrastructure to accommodate 1,000 cardiologists and staff per year

We are also pursuing transradial advocacy, traning, and education programs in Asia, Europe, and South America.

Our Transradial Education Programs include:

• Education for physicians, nurses, techs, hospital administrators, third-party payers, and patients
• Awareness education with dinner programs, Grand Rounds, seminars, conferences (i.e., Transradial Summit)
• Hands-on training with PAMEAS Bootcamps, preceptorships, mentorships/proctorships
• Medical simulation training
• Online education programs
• Clinical research programs