Source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) — Content from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (public domain).
What to know
Hemophilia treatment centers (HTCs) provide specialized health care for people who have bleeding disorders. Use the HTC Directory to find where HTCs are located across the US.
Overview
Hemophilia is a complex disorder that can lead to chronic health problems such as joint disease over time. However, if the disorder is managed properly, people with hemophilia can live long, healthy lives. Good quality medical care from doctors and nurses who know a lot about the disorder can help prevent some serious problems. This type of specialty care can be found at a comprehensive hemophilia treatment center (HTC).
HTCs are specialized healthcare centers that bring together a team of doctors, nurses, and other health professionals experienced in treating people with hemophilia.1
Find an HTC Near You
Find an HTC near you with the HTC Directory. You can also search for the names and contact information of hemophilia treatment centers and staff, create and save lists, print mailing labels, and send emails.
The comprehensive care model
Each HTC provides access to multidisciplinary healthcare professionals:
* Lab medical technologists and pathologists
* Hematologists (doctors who specialize in blood)
* Orthopedists (doctors who specialize in bones, joints, and muscles)
* Physical therapists
* Nurses
* Social workers and other mental health professionals
* Other specialists available by referral (for example, dentist, nutritionist, genetic counselor)
Comprehensive HTCs emphasize prevention services to help reduce or eliminate complications. These services include using preventive medicine and connecting patients with community groups that provide education and support to families. For example, the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation partners with HTCs and CDC to educate people with this disorder about the top five ways to reduce complications.
HTC staff specialize in caring for people with bleeding disorders.
Advancing knowledge and impacting practice
One of the major challenges facing researchers and scientists who work on rare disorders such as hemophilia is lack of access to uniform data. Federally funded HTCs throughout the United States can participate in CDC’s Community Counts program, which collects a consistent set of data to monitor the health of people with hemophilia. The data are used to advance knowledge and eventually impact health practices for this condition and other related disorders.