Health System Approach to Improve COPD Care After Hospital Discharge: Stepped Wedge Clinical Trial

Rural Residence Associated with Receipt of Recommended Postdischarge Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Care among a Cohort of U.S. Veterans

Rationale: Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in rural areas experience inequitable access to care. Objectives: To assess whether rural residence is associated with receipt of recommended postdischarge COPD care. Methods: We conducted a cohort study of all U.S. veterans discharged from a Veterans Affairs medical center after COPD hospitalization from 2010 to 2019. Rural residence was defined by rural-urban commuting area classification. Our primary outcome was the proportion of recommended care received within 90 days of hospital discharge, including smoking cessation therapy, appropriate management of supplemental oxygen, appropriate prescription of inhaled therapy, and pulmonary rehabilitation. We conducted multivariable linear regression between rural residence and the proportion of recommended care received, adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, comorbidities, and primary care facility type. We tested multivariable linear probability models for each of the recommended therapies. Results: Of 67,649 patients, 7,370 (10.8%) resided in rural areas and 2,000 (3.0%) in highly rural areas. Overall, the proportion of recommended COPD treatments received was low (mean, 15.0%; standard deviation, 21.0%). Compared with urban residence, patients with rural and highly rural residence received fewer recommended COPD care treatments (rural estimate [adjusted percentage difference (95% confidence interval)], -1.1 [-1.6, -0.6]; highly rural estimate, -1.2 [-2.1, -0.3]). Rural and highly rural residence were associated with lower likelihood of receiving appropriate inhaled therapy escalation (rural estimate, -4.0 [-5.1, -3.0]; highly rural estimate, -3.0 [-5.0, -1.1]) and pulmonary rehabilitation referral (rural estimate, -1.2 [-1.6, -0.9]; highly rural estimate, -2.1 [-2.7, -1.4]) but a higher likelihood of receiving smoking cessation therapy (rural estimate, 5.4 [3.3, 7.5]; highly rural estimate, 7.2 [3.3, 11.2]). There was no significant difference in appropriate oxygen management (rural estimate, -1.0 [-2.8, 0.9]; highly rural estimate, 3.1 [-0.7, 6.9]). Conclusions: Patients across the rural-urban spectrum received few recommended postdischarge COPD treatments. Health systems approaches are needed to address widespread underuse of evidence-based COPD care.

eConsultation for Deprescribing Among Older Adults: Clinician Perspectives on Implementation Barriers and Facilitators

BACKGROUND

Electronic consultations (eConsults) enable asynchronous consultation between primary care providers (PCPs) and specialists. eConsults have been used successfully to manage a variety of conditions and have the potential to help PCPs manage polypharmacy and promote deprescribing.

OBJECTIVE

To elicit clinician perspectives on barriers/facilitators of using eConsults for deprescribing among older adults within a university health network.

DESIGN

Semi-structured interviews.

PARTICIPANTS

PCPs, geriatricians, and pharmacists.

APPROACH

We used the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior) model to structure the interview guide and qualitative analysis methods to identify barriers/facilitators of (1) deprescribing and (2) use of eConsults for deprescribing.

KEY RESULTS

Of 28 participants, 19 were PCPs (13 physicians, 4 residents, 2 nurse practitioners), 7 were geriatricians, and 2 were pharmacists. Barriers and facilitators to deprescribing: PCPs considered deprescribing important but identified myriad barriers (e.g., time constraints, fragmented clinical care, lack of pharmacist integration, and patient/family resistance). Use of eConsults for deprescribing: Both PCPs and geriatricians highlighted the limits of contextual information available through electronic health record (vs. face-to-face) to render specific and actionable eConsults (e.g., knowledge of prior deprescribing attempts). Participants from all groups expressed interest in a targeted process whereby eConsults could be offered for select patients based on key factors (e.g., polypharmacy or certain comorbidities) and accepted or declined by PCPs, with pithy recommendations delivered in a timely manner relative to patient appointments. This was encapsulated by one PCP: "they need to be crisp and to the point to be helpful, with specific suggestions of something that could be discontinued or switched…not, 'hey, did you know your patient is on over 12 medicines?'".

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians identified multifaceted factors influencing the utility of eConsults for deprescribing among older adults in primary care. Deprescribing eConsult interventions should be timely, actionable, and mindful of limitations of electronic chart review.

Multidisciplinary proactive e-consults to improve guideline-directed medical therapies for patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease: an implementation study

INTRODUCTION

We hypothesized that multidisciplinary, proactive electronic consultation (MPE) could overcome barriers to prescribing guideline-directed medical therapies (GDMTs) for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We conducted an efficacy-implementation pilot study of MPE for T2D and CKD for primary care provider (PCP)-patient dyads at an academic health system. MPE included (1) a dashboard to identify patients without a prescription for sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and without a maximum dose prescription for renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASi), (2) a multidisciplinary team of specialists to provide recommendations using e-consult templates, and (3) a workflow to deliver timely e-consult recommendations to PCPs. In-depth interviews were conducted with PCPs and specialists to assess feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of MPE and were analyzed using an iterative qualitative analysis approach to identify major themes. Prescription data were extracted from the electronic health record to assess preliminary effectiveness to increase GDMT.

RESULTS

20 PCPs agreed to participate, 18 PCPs received MPEs for one of their patients with T2D and CKD, and 16 PCPs and 2 specialists were interviewed. Major themes were as follows: appropriateness of prioritization of GDMT for T2D and CKD, acceptability of the content of the recommendations, PCP characteristics impact experience with MPE, acceptability and appropriateness of multidisciplinary collaboration, feasibility of MPE to overcome patient-specific barriers to GDMT, and appropriateness of workflow. At 6 months postbaseline, 7/18 (39%) patients were newly prescribed an SGLT2i, and 7/18 (39%) patients were either newly prescribed or had increased dose of RAASi.

CONCLUSIONS

MPE was an acceptable and appropriate health system strategy to identify and address gaps in GDMT among patients with T2D and CKD. Adopting MPE could enhance GDMT, though PCPs raised feasibility concerns which could be improved with program enhancements, including follow-up e-consults for reinforcement, and administrative support for navigating system-level barriers.

Nurse and Social Worker Palliative Telecare Team and Quality of Life in Patients With COPD, Heart Failure, or Interstitial Lung Disease: The ADAPT Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance

Many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure (HF), and interstitial lung disease (ILD) endure poor quality of life despite conventional therapy. Palliative care approaches may benefit this population prior to end of life.

Objective

Determine the effect of a nurse and social worker palliative telecare team on quality of life in outpatients with COPD, HF, or ILD compared with usual care.

Design, Setting, and Participants

Single-blind, 2-group, multisite randomized clinical trial with accrual between October 27, 2016, and April 2, 2020, in 2 Veterans Administration health care systems (Colorado and Washington), and including community-based outpatient clinics. Outpatients with COPD, HF, or ILD at high risk of hospitalization or death who reported poor quality of life participated.

Intervention

The intervention involved 6 phone calls with a nurse to help with symptom management and 6 phone calls with a social worker to provide psychosocial care. The nurse and social worker met weekly with a study primary care and palliative care physician and as needed, a pulmonologist, and cardiologist. Usual care included an educational handout developed for the study that outlined self-care for COPD, ILD, or HF. Patients in both groups received care at the discretion of their clinicians, which could include care from nurses and social workers, and specialists in cardiology, pulmonology, palliative care, and mental health.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcome was difference in change in quality of life from baseline to 6 months between the intervention and usual care groups (FACT-G score range, 0-100, with higher scores indicating better quality of life, clinically meaningful change ≥4 points). Secondary quality-of-life outcomes at 6 months included disease-specific health status (Clinical COPD Questionnaire; Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-12), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-8) and anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7) symptoms.

Results

Among 306 randomized patients (mean [SD] age, 68.9 [7.7] years; 276 male [90.2%], 30 female [9.8%]; 245 White [80.1%]), 177 (57.8%) had COPD, 67 (21.9%) HF, 49 (16%) both COPD and HF, and 13 (4.2%) ILD. Baseline FACT-G scores were similar (intervention, 52.9; usual care, 52.7). FACT-G completion was 76% (intervention, 117 of 154; usual care, 116 of 152) at 6 months for both groups. Mean (SD) length of intervention was 115.1 (33.4) days and included a mean of 10.4 (3.3) intervention calls per patient. In the intervention group, 112 of 154 (73%) patients received the intervention as randomized. At 6 months, mean FACT-G score improved 6.0 points in the intervention group and 1.4 points in the usual care group (difference, 4.6 points [95% CI, 1.8-7.4]; P = .001; standardized mean difference, 0.41). The intervention also improved COPD health status (standardized mean difference, 0.44; P = .04), HF health status (standardized mean difference, 0.41; P = .01), depression (standardized mean difference, -0.50; P < .001), and anxiety (standardized mean difference, -0.51; P < .001) at 6 months.

Conclusions and Relevance

For adults with COPD, HF, or ILD who were at high risk of death and had poor quality of life, a nurse and social worker palliative telecare team produced clinically meaningful improvements in quality of life at 6 months compared with usual care.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02713347.

COPD and multimorbidity: recognising and addressing a syndemic occurrence

Most patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have at least one additional, clinically relevant chronic disease. Those with the most severe airflow obstruction will die from respiratory failure, but most patients with COPD die from non-respiratory disorders, particularly cardiovascular diseases and cancer. As many chronic diseases have shared risk factors (eg, ageing, smoking, pollution, inactivity, and poverty), we argue that a shift from the current paradigm in which COPD is considered as a single disease with comorbidities, to one in which COPD is considered as part of a multimorbid state-with co-occurring diseases potentially sharing pathobiological mechanisms-is needed to advance disease prevention, diagnosis, and management. The term syndemics is used to describe the co-occurrence of diseases with shared mechanisms and risk factors, a novel concept that we propose helps to explain the clustering of certain morbidities in patients diagnosed with COPD. A syndemics approach to understanding COPD could have important clinical implications, in which the complex disease presentations in these patients are addressed through proactive diagnosis, assessment of severity, and integrated management of the COPD multimorbid state, with a patient-centred rather than a single-disease approach.

Design and methods of a randomized trial testing "Advancing care for COPD in people living with HIV by implementing evidence-based management through proactive E-consults (ACHIEVE)"

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common comorbid diseases among aging people with HIV (PWH) and is often mismanaged. To address this gap, we are conducting the study, "Advancing care for COPD in people living with HIV by Implementing Evidence-based management through proactive E-consults (ACHIEVE)." This intervention optimizes COPD management by promoting effective, evidence-based care and de-implementing inappropriate therapies for COPD in PWH receiving care at Veteran Affairs (VA) medical centers. Study pulmonologists are proactively supporting ID providers managing a population of PWH who have COPD, offering real-time evidence-based recommendations tailored to each patient. We are leveraging VA clinical and informatics infrastructures to communicate recommendations between the study team and clinical providers through the electronic health record (EHR) as an E-consult. If effective, ACHIEVE could serve as a model of effective, efficient COPD management among PWH receiving care in VA. This paper outlines the rationale and methodology of the ACHIEVE trial, one of a series of studies funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) within the ImPlementation REsearCh to DEvelop Interventions for People Living with HIV (PRECluDE) consortium to study chronic disease comorbidities in HIV populations.

Characteristics Associated with Spirometry Guideline Adherence in VA Patients Hospitalized with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

BACKGROUND

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) recommends at least annual spirometry for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Since spirometry acquisition is variable in clinical practice, identifying characteristics associated with annual spirometry may inform strategies to improve care for patients with COPD.

METHODS

We included veterans hospitalized for COPD at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities from 10/2012 to 09/2015. Our primary outcome was spirometry within 1 year of COPD hospitalization. Patient demographics, health factors, and comorbidities as well as practice and geographic variables were identified using Corporate Data Warehouse; provider characteristics were obtained from the Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients. We used logistic regression with a random intercept to account for potential clustering within facilities.

RESULTS

Spirometry was completed 1 year before or after hospitalization for 20,683/38,148 (54.2%) veterans across 114 facilities. Patients with spirometry were younger, (mean=67.2 years (standard deviation (SD)=9.3) vs. 69.4 (10.3)), more likely non-white (21.3% vs. 19.7%), and more likely to have comorbidities (p<0.0001 for asthma, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder). Pulmonary clinic visit was most strongly associated with spirometry (odds ratio (OR)=3.14 [95% confidence interval 2.99-3.30]). There was no association for facility complexity. In a secondary analysis including provider-level data (3862 patients), results were largely unchanged. There was no association between primary care provider age, gender, or type (physician vs. advanced practice registered nurse vs. physician assistant) and spirometry.

CONCLUSION

In a cohort of high-risk COPD patients, just over half completed spirometry within 1 year of hospitalization. Pulmonary clinic visit was most strongly associated with 1-year spirometry, though provider variables were not. Spirometry completion for high-risk COPD patients remains suboptimal and strategies to improve post-hospitalization care for patients not seen in pulmonary clinic should be developed to ensure guideline concordant care.

Care Quality for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the Readmission Penalty Era

Rationale: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fifth-leading cause of admissions and third-leading cause of readmissions among U.S. adults. Recent policies instituted financial penalties for excessive COPD readmissions. Objectives: To evaluate changes in the quality of care for patients hospitalized for COPD after implementation of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP). Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients older than 40 years of age hospitalized for COPD across 995 U.S. hospitals (Premier Healthcare Database). Measurements and Main Results: Quality of care before and after HRRP implementation was measured via adherence to recommended inpatient care treatments for acute exacerbations of COPD (recommended care, nonrecommended care, "ideal care" [all recommended and no nonrecommended care]). We included 662,842 pre-HRRP (January 2010-September 2014) and 285,508 post-HRRP (October 2014-December 2018) admissions. Recommended care increased at a rate of 0.16% per month pre-HRRP and 0.01% per month post-HRRP (P < 0.001). Nonrecommended care decreased at a rate of 0.15% per month pre-HRRP and 0.13% per month post-HRRP. Ideal care increased at a rate of 0.24% per month pre-HRRP and 0.11% per month post-HRRP (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The pre-HRRP trends toward improving care quality for inpatient COPD care slowed after HRRP implementation. This suggests that financial penalties for readmissions did not stimulate higher quality of care for patients hospitalized with COPD. It remains unclear what policies or approaches will be effective to ensure high care quality for patients hospitalized with COPD exacerbations.