Reducing COPD Rehospitalizations

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are rehospitalized following hospitalization for an exacerbation of COPD are at higher risk of mortality and poor health outcomes. Approximately 20% of patients who are discharged from the hospital following an exacerbation of COPD are readmitted within 30 days. At a home healthcare agency in southeastern United States, 36.4% of patients admitted to the agency with a primary or secondary diagnosis of COPD between August 2018 and January 2019 were rehospitalized within 30 days of admission. A quality improvement project was conducted between January 2019 and July 2019. This project involved implementation of a COPD self-management care plan packet provided by home healthcare nurses to patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of COPD. The 30-day rehospitalizations for patients with COPD decreased from 36.4% preintervention to 15.4% postintervention. The number of patients receiving timely follow-up with their provider increased from 79% preintervention to 88% postintervention, and COPD medication reconciliation at admission improved from 79% preintervention to 84% postintervention. The generalizability of these results is limited due to a small sample size and inconsistencies in intervention implementation.