A strategy to implement a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease discharge care bundle on a large scale

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Standardizing care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations can be achieved through care bundles.
• Implementing care bundles often requires additional resources, posing a challenge for healthcare systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and impact of implementing a COPD discharge care bundle by redeploying a respiratory early discharge service (REDS).
• To assess the effect of this service redesign on hospital length of stay (LOS) and uptake of smoking cessation and pulmonary rehabilitation referrals.

Main Methods:

• A respiratory early discharge service (REDS) was redeployed to deliver a standardized COPD discharge care bundle.
• An audit was conducted to compare LOS and referral rates for patients who received the bundle versus those who did not.

Main Results:

• Out of 1,742 COPD patients, 1,170 received the discharge care bundle.
• Mean LOS was reduced for patients receiving the bundle (6.17 days) compared to those who did not (7.08 days).
• Referrals for smoking cessation and pulmonary rehabilitation significantly increased during the project.

Conclusions:

• A COPD discharge care bundle can be effectively implemented on a large scale by redeploying an existing service (REDS).
• This approach standardizes COPD care and improves patient outcomes without increasing hospital LOS or requiring additional resources.