What is it about?
We have been running a service for patients with COPD in Hackney since 2009. This article looks at the impact that the service has had on patients. Some of the things we looked at include: number of hospital admissions and days spent in hospital, "quality of life" scores (according to questionnaires completed by patients), and whether patients who were at the end of their lives were looked after well and where they wanted to be. An economic analysis was done showing that almost the entire cost of the service was offset by savings in the numbers of hospital beds utilised. Overall, this COPD service that spanned primary care (in the home or at the GP practice) and secondary care (in hospitals) seemed to improve patient satisfaction and quality of life.
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Why is it important?
It is believed that integrated respiratory medicine services can improve patient experience and outcomes, but this is still a growing field, with only a few expert institutions providing these services in a comprehensive way. We think that reading about our experiences will show to commissioners and providers the advantages that this type of service can bring without any significant cost implications. Patients and carers will be able to see what can be done and collaborate with their healthcare professionals to improve the way that they are looked after - and how they look after themselves.
Perspectives
We started this service because of my previous experience in looking after patients with COPD and after reflection follow the COPD Peer review carried out under the auspices of the Royal College of Physicians in 2005-6. The primary aim has been to provide a better way to care for these relatively underserved patients and to make sure that they could be involved in their medical care and plans. It proved difficult to take the time to analyse the outcomes and huge amounts of data that we gathered and I am very grateful to Anna Garner and my other co-authors to spend the many hours they all did on meticulously tabulating and analysing all the information so that we could share this with anyone who is interested in learning from our successes and mistakes!
Angshu Bhowmik
Queen Mary University of London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: An analysis of the economic and patient outcome impact of an integrated COPD service in east London, International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, June 2017, Dove Medical Press,
DOI: 10.2147/copd.s127843.
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