An interprofessional, multicare setting program led to a nearly 50% reduction in 30-day all-cause COPD readmissions, according to findings presented at the Society of Hospital Medicine Annual Meeting reported by Healio.
They used a quality improvement model from February 2014 to August 2015 to develop their inter-professional program, which included:
- nurse-led inpatient pulmonary consultation;
- one-week follow-up at an outpatient clinic;
- self-management education (COPD action plan);
- pharmacy-led medication reconciliation;
- inhaler technique instruction;
- a 24-hour patient phone line; and
- a postdischarge call after 48 hours.
The investigators found that out of 583 admissions for acute exacerbation of COPD, 91 (15.6%) were readmitted within 30 days from February through August 2015. During the intervention period, the 3-month average readmission rate decreased from 26% to 11%.
