Is your hospital considering an in-house ECMO program? Are you looking to serve more patients, retain revenue, and extend your continuity of care? ECMO programs are saving lives as this critical therapy has become an intervention for an expanding number of use cases.
Respiratory therapists and RNs are ideal candidates for ECMO education and certification, and experience can be vital in building a successful program. SpecialtyCare can help your hospital with training, protocols, and program development so you can meet the rising demand for ECMO in a sustainable way that benefits your organization and your patients.
What Is ECMO?
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is a therapy that provides cardiac and respiratory assistance when the heart or lungs are injured. It was once considered a last-resort therapy for the critically ill, but it has become useful for a wider range of conditions in recent years, including the following:
- Influenza
- Viral or bacterial pneumonia
- Myocardial infarction
- Explosive myocarditis
- Sudden cardiac arrest
- Cardiogenic shock
- Severe asthma
- E-CPR
- Sepsis
- Bridge to transplantation
- Bridge to organ donation
- And more
The rise in cardiac and respiratory diseases is driving demand for ECMO programs; as of 2026, roughly 44% of all ECMO cases recorded in the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ESLO) live registry have occurred within the last five years. Moreover, ECMO is one of the top five highest paying DRG codes today, which is why many hospitals are able to justify the investment in their own in-house programs. Reimbursements are averaging around $167K per patient with CMS reimbursement — or even greater with private pay — and are reimbursable for up to 23 days.
How ECMO Is Saving Lives
Increased use of ECMO has led to broader research on short-term and long-term survival outcomes, proving its viability as a treatment application for a number of conditions. Here are several data points that show ECMO is saving lives in critical moments:
- Up to 45% of patients survive in-hospital cardiac arrest when treated with E-CPR via the ECMO machine, according to the Journal of Clinical Medicine.
- StatPearls says that 52% of ARDS patients on ECMO survive to discharge, according to research.
- According to the ELSO Registry, across all the recorded ECMO cases, 53% of patients have survived to discharge or transfer.
- In a study of 429 patients with severe ARDS, Intensive Care Medicine reveals that “90-day mortality was significantly lowered by ECMO compared with conventional management.”
ECMO Programs and Certification
Developing an in-house ECMO program can be complex without the right experience and assistance, especially with regard to program structure, tracking, and billing. A successful in-house program can prevent costly transfers and increase inbound referrals. Clinical research shows that experience in ECMO has a measurable effect on mortality rates, so when you’re building your program, it’s vital to work with a partner that can provide the expertise, training, credentialing, setup, and management that will improve outcomes.
At SpecialtyCare, we can help you with every aspect of building a profitable, effective ECMO program, from placing trained ECMO specialists in your hospital to managing billing practices, preparing your in-house team, and providing oversight for performance improvement. We can provide training for RNs and respiratory therapists; simulation training; 40 hour clinical bedside training; training for allied health clinicians, physicians, and advanced practitioners; self-guided online training; and cannulation training for physicians. Our education is based on ELSO standards and paves your team’s path to ECMO certification.
Get Support for Your ECMO Program
If you’re ready to explore the value of an in-house ECMO program at your hospital or need assistance with program development, get in touch with us today. From ECMO staffing to training and continuous improvement, we have you covered. As a market leader in perfusion, ECMO, and NRP services, we perform over 75,000 cardiac procedures requiring perfusion each year. Let our expertise become your advantage. As the demand for ECMO rises, contact us to learn more about how we can help you build an effective program that generates revenue and expands the continuity of care for your patients.
