A chronic disease management programme can reduce days in hospital for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
BACKGROUND
A steady increase in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) admissions was addressed by enhancing primary care to provide intensive chronic disease management.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the effect of a disease management programme, including a COPD management guideline, a patient-specific care plan and collaboration between patients, general practitioners, practice nurses, hospital physicians and nurse specialists with conventional care, on hospital admissions and quality of life.


METHODS
One hundred and thirty-five patients with a clinical diagnosis of moderate to severe COPD were identified from hospital admission data and general practice records. General practices were randomized to either conventional care (CON), or the intervention (INT). Pre- and post-study assessment included spirometry, Shuttle Walk Test, Short Form-36, and the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ). Admission data were compared for 12 months prior to and during the trial.


RESULTS
For respiratory conditions, mean hospital bed days per patient per year for the INT group were reduced from 2.8 to 1.1, whereas those for the CON group increased from 3.5 to 4.0 (group difference, P = 0.030) The INT group also showed an improvement for two dimensions of the CRQ, fatigue (P = 0.010) and mastery (P = 0.007).


CONCLUSIONS
A chronic disease management programme for COPD patients that incorporated a variety of interventions, including pulmonary rehabilitation and implemented by primary care, reduced admissions and hospital bed days. Key elements were patient participation and information sharing among healthcare providers.
Rea
H
H
South Auckland Division of Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Hrea@middlemore.co.nz
McAuley
S
S
Stewart
A
A
Lamont
C
C
Roseman
P
P
Didsbury
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome