Discharge Care Bundle Reduces Readmissions for COPD

A chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care discharge bundle implemented at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey lowered 30-, 60-, and 90-day readmission rates among patients hospitalized for acute COPD exacerbations, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Delivered by a multidisciplinary team, the COPD care bundle includes predischarge patient education, an individualized self-management plan for patient use after discharge, and timely follow-up with a pulmonologist after discharge.

Compared with a 32.7% 30-day readmission rate before implementation, the postimplementation 30-day readmission rate significantly decreased to 22.2%.

The 60-day readmission rate dropped from 56% to 30.3% after implementation, and the 90-day readmission rate fell from 62.6% to 35.3%.

The preintervention group in the study consisted of 150 patients hospitalized for a COPD exacerbation between April 2016 and September 2016. The postintervention group included 221 patients hospitalized for a COPD exacerbation between April 2017 and September 2017. Clinically relevant patient characteristics were similar between the two groups.

“The researchers concluded that implementation of a discharge care bundle in patients admitted with COPD exacerbations significantly and consistently reduced 30-day hospital readmission rates without increasing hospital length of stay,” MedPage Today reported, “and that the reduction in readmissions was sustained through 60 and 90 days.”

—Jolynn Tumolo

For articles by First Report Managed Care, click here

To view the First Report Managed Care print issue, click here