Utilization in COPD: patient characteristics and diagnostic evaluation.
OBJECTIVE
Information on current practices of COPD diagnosis and treatment is needed to identify opportunities for improving care. This study describes the clinical characteristics and diagnostic evaluations of COPD patients in a health maintenance organization (HMO) and a university-affiliated county medical center (UMC).


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey performed in a 174,484-member regional HMO and in The University of New Mexico Hospitals and Clinics (UNMH).


METHODS
Two hundred COPD patients from each system randomly selected from administrative databases based on discharge diagnoses.


RESULTS
COPD patients in the UMC, compared to those in the HMO, were younger (mean age, 59.3 vs 66.9 years, respectively), were more likely to be using home oxygen (33% vs 20%, respectively), and had fewer chronic medical conditions (mean number of conditions, 3.1 vs 3.7, respectively) (p < 0.01 for all differences). Approximately half of the COPD patients in both groups continued to smoke cigarettes during the study year. Only 38% of patients in the HMO and 42% in the UNMH system had spirometry results documented in their medical records.


CONCLUSIONS
The demographic and clinical characteristics of the COPD patients in these two health-care systems were very different, but smoking status and utilization of diagnostic tests were similar. The diagnosis of COPD in most patients was based only on a history of chronic respiratory symptoms and smoking; spirometry often was not used to confirm the diagnosis. An increased emphasis on smoking cessation and more effective utilization of spirometry are needed to improve the management of COPD in these health-care systems.
Mapel
D W
DW
Epidemiology and Cancer Control Program, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131-5306, USA. dmapel@salud.unm.edu
Picchi
M A
MA
Hurley
J S
JS
Frost
F J
FJ
Petersen
H V
HV
Mapel
V M
VM
Coultas
D B
DB
D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000191:economics / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009516:New Mexico; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013147:Spirometry