The accreditation and granting process is the responsibility of the Foundation's Clinic Subcommittee. Those clinics which are accredited by the CCFF are eligible to register in the Foundation's Clinical Studies Network. Good communication within the clinical community helps to ensure that therapies are consistent throughout the country, and that each clinic is up to date with current trends and research initiatives. A typical CF clinic team is comprised of several health care professionals, each of whom has a specific area of expertise which relates to the care of individuals with cystic fibrosis. Other individuals are often involved with the CF clinic, but not necessarily on a regular basis.
Involvement can depend on the size of the clinic, and the resources which are available to it.
He or she outlines each patient's medical profile, prescribes all medications, and oversees all the associated treatments administered by the multidisciplinary clinic team members. The clinic director has admitting privileges, and can hospitalize patients when necessary. The clinic director, or designated, named CF physician, sees all CF individuals at every clinic visit, and in many cases, is available for patient visits outside of clinic times. In the case of larger CF clinics, the clinic director works with one or more associated CF physicians. The associated physicians, like the clinic director, are involved with the clinic only on a part-time basis, but share the medical load with, and provide backup medical support to, the director.