A quality improvement initiative for COPD patients: A cost analysis

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Quality Improvement Science
• Pulmonary Medicine

Background:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management presents significant challenges across acute and post-acute care settings.
• High hospital readmission rates for COPD patients contribute to substantial healthcare expenditures.
• Existing care models often lack integration, leading to fragmented patient journeys and suboptimal outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the economic impact of an integrated, quality, and operational improvement program for COPD care.
• To quantify cost savings and assess the effect on hospital readmissions.
• To analyze the financial benefits across different patient cohorts, including those receiving non-invasive ventilation.

Main Methods:

• Development of a budget impact model utilizing objective data from a 12-hospital initiative in Alabama.
• Analysis of cost savings based on improved workflows for early diagnosis, care transitions, and patient visibility.
• Classification of patients based on non-invasive ventilation (NIV) use and scenario analyses for different payer cohort sizes.

Main Results:

• The integrated program yielded annual per-patient savings of $11,263 compared to traditional care.
• Projected cumulative savings reached $52 million over a 5-year period.
• Incorporating NIV resulted in higher annual per-patient savings ($20,535) and projected 5-year savings of $91 million.

Conclusions:

• An integrated COPD management program across the care continuum offers significant cost savings.
• The initiative demonstrated a substantial reduction in hospital readmissions for COPD patients.
• Quality improvement programs, especially those incorporating NIV, present a financially viable strategy for managing COPD.