Impact of an Inpatient COPD Care Pathway on Hospital Care Process and Outcome Metrics

Variable hospital care for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and underutilization of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) may contribute to poor outcomes. Clinical pathways can optimize care by providing real-time decision support based on evidence and expert consensus. An inpatient COPD pathway was implemented in May 2021.

The objective was to evaluate the impact of the COPD pathway on length of stay (LOS), discharge disposition, resource use, PR referrals, and readmissions.

A 2-part COPD pathway embedded into the electronic health record was built by multidisciplinary providers across a large academic medical center. Providers could place orders and document notes directly from the pathway. We identified all COPD hospitalizations one year after pathway implementation using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes according to methods used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

A total of 766 patients contributed to 971 hospitalizations. The pathway was opened in 142 (14.6%) hospitalizations. No significant differences in demographics, insurance, or smoking status were noted between pathway versus nonpathway patients. Bivariate analyses demonstrated lower LOS (5.4 days versus 7.1 days, p=0.001) and total costs ($5756 versus $8781, p< 0.001) with pathway use, but no significant difference between 30-day readmissions (16% versus 22%, p=0.12). In multivariable analysis, pathway use was associated with greater PR referrals (odds ratio [OR] 5.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.47-13.45, p<0.001) and discharges to home (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.13-3.39, p=0.016).

Despite low utilization, pathway use was associated with more PR referrals and discharges to home with a trend toward lower LOS, resource use, and decreased readmissions.