The rise of COPD-related diagnoses in North America continues to be an issue, as the disease contributes to high medical costs and a significant loss in productivity. In an effort to improve best practices for care when treating those with COPD, a new effort is underway in Canada to make a difference for those suffering with the disease.
Non-profit organization Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI), in partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim, has announced that it will be donating a total of $1 million to health care teams across all 10 Canadian provinces for the improvement of better patient care for those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This funding from an organization dedicated to accelerating health improvement is expected to aid over 11,000 patients all over the country.
The 19 teams receiving $50,000 from the foundation are participants in the INSPIRED Approaches to COPD: Improving Care and Creating Value collaborative, a program dedicated to giving support to caregivers of COPD patients. The teams from various institutions are tasked to implement a novel approach to caring for COPD patients that can potentially reduce hospital admissions, length of confinement, and emergency room visits by 60%. This will be accomplished through proper training and education from the CFHI as developed by the Medical Director of the INSPIRED COPD Outreach ProgramTM, Dr. Graeme Rocker, in Nova Scotia.
The INSPIRED teams are comprised of a number of healthcare providers such as physicians, administrators, nurses, and respiratory therapists, and will also closely involve the participation of COPD patients and their caregivers.
In other COPD news, a study from Duke Medicine recently concluded that COPD patients can greatly benefit from learning relaxation and coping techniques. Findings showed an improvement in symptom management and overall sense of well-being.