Implementing chronic care for COPD: planned visits, care coordination, and patient empowerment for improved outcomes.

Current primary care patterns for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) focus on reactive care for acute exacerbations, often neglecting ongoing COPD management to the detriment of patient experience and outcomes. Proactive diagnosis and ongoing multifactorial COPD management, comprising smoking cessation, influenza and pneumonia vaccinations, pulmonary rehabilitation, and symptomatic and maintenance pharmacotherapy according to severity, can significantly improve a patient's health-related quality of life, reduce exacerbations and their consequences, and alleviate the functional, utilization, and financial burden of COPD. Redesign of primary care according to principles of the chronic care model, which is implemented in the patient-centered medical home, can shift COPD management from acute rescue to proactive maintenance. The chronic care model and patient-centered medical home combine delivery system redesign, clinical information systems, decision support, and self-management support within a practice, linked with health care organization and community resources beyond the practice. COPD care programs implementing two or more chronic care model components effectively reduce emergency room and inpatient utilization. This review guides primary care practices in improving COPD care workflows, highlighting the contributions of multidisciplinary collaborative team care, care coordination, and patient engagement. Each primary care practice can devise a COPD care workflow addressing risk awareness, spirometric diagnosis, guideline-based treatment and rehabilitation, and self-management support, to improve patient outcomes in COPD.

Patient-Centered Medical Home in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive and debilitating but preventable and treatable disease characterized by cough, phlegm, dyspnea, and fixed or incompletely reversible airway obstruction. Most patients with COPD rely on primary care practices for COPD management. Unfortunately, only about 55% of US outpatients with COPD receive all guideline-recommended care. Proactive and consistent primary care for COPD, as for many other chronic diseases, can reduce hospitalizations. Optimal chronic disease management requires focusing on maintenance rather than merely acute rescue. The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH), which implements the chronic care model, is a promising framework for primary care transformation. This review presents core PCMH concepts and proposes multidisciplinary team-based PCMH care strategies for COPD.

Diagnosing and treating COPD: understanding the challenges and finding solutions.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow obstruction that is not fully reversible; symptoms include chronic cough, sputum production, and dyspnea with exertion. An estimated 50% of the 24 million adults in the USA who have COPD are thought to be misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. Factors contributing to this include a low awareness of COPD and the initial symptoms of the disease among the general population, acceptance of these symptoms as a consequence of aging or smoking, some symptomatic similarity to asthma, and failure of health care personnel to use spirometry for diagnosis. Increased familiarization with COPD diagnosis and treatment guidelines, and proactive identification of patients with increased risk of developing COPD through occupational, environmental, or lifestyle exposures, will assist in a timely, accurate diagnosis and effective treatment, which will consequently improve patient outcomes. This review addresses the issues surrounding the diagnosis and misdiagnosis of COPD, their consequences, and how COPD can be better managed within primary care, including consideration of COPD care in patient-centered medical home and chronic care models.

Spirometry use: detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the primary care setting.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a practical method for family practitioners to stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by the use of office spirometry. METHODS: This is a review of the lessons learned from evaluations of the use of office spirometry in the primary care setting to identify best practices using the most recent published evaluations of office spirometry and the analysis of preliminary data from a recent spirometry mass screening project. A mass screening study by the American Association for Respiratory Care and the COPD Foundation was used to identify the most effective way for general practitioners to implement office spirometry in order to stage COPD. RESULTS: A simple three-step method is described to identify people with a high pre-test probability in an attempt to detect moderate to severe COPD: COPD questionnaire, measurement of peak expiratory flow, and office spirometry. Clinical practice guidelines exist for office spirometry basics for safety, use of electronic peak flow devices, and portable spirometers. CONCLUSION: Spirometry can be undertaken in primary care offices with acceptable levels of technical expertise. Using office spirometry, primary care physicians can diagnose the presence and severity of COPD. Spirometry can guide therapies for COPD and predict outcomes when used in general practice.

Pulmonary rehabilitation: an underutilized resource in primary COPD care.

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an important component of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management. Physician use of PR for patients with COPD lags behind national and international guideline recommendations. In this article, we discuss the important components of PR, including exercise training, self-management education, and psychosocial and nutritional interventions, as based on the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society and Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines. We also discuss the potential benefits of PR, including reduction of respiratory symptoms, decreased disability, and increased participation in physical and social activities. Increased activity promotes independence, improves quality of life, and reduces the number of COPD exacerbations and hospitalizations. In all stages of COPD, PR has been shown to result in improved exercise tolerance, with reduced dyspnea and fatigue, although the greatest improvement has been seen in patients with GOLD stages II to IV. Pulmonary rehabilitation is now a well-recognized therapy that should be available to all patients with symptomatic COPD. To facilitate inclusion of PR in COPD management, primary care physicians need to recognize and diagnose COPD, and regularly decide when PR best fits in an individual's COPD treatment program.

Innovations to achieve excellence in COPD diagnosis and treatment in primary care.

Recognition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often missed or delayed in primary care. Once recognized, COPD is often undertreated or episodically treated, focusing on acute exacerbations without establishing maintenance treatment to control ongoing disease. Diagnostic and therapeutic pessimism result in missed opportunities to reduce exacerbations, maintain physical functioning, and reduce emergent health care requirements. Proactive diagnosis and evidence-based management can alleviate the impact of COPD on patients' lives. Smoking cessation has been proven to slow the rate of lung function decline. Maintenance pharmacotherapy and immunizations reduce exacerbations. Pulmonary rehabilitation improves respiratory symptoms and physical functioning and reduces rehospitalizations after exacerbations. Self-management education improves health-related quality of life and reduces inpatient and emergency care usage. Maintenance treatment with long-acting inhaled bronchodilators is appropriate beginning in moderate COPD to maintain airway patency and reduce exacerbations. Tiotropium is US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved to treat bronchospasm and reduce exacerbations in patients with COPD; salmeterol/fluticasone is FDA approved to treat airflow obstruction in COPD and reduce exacerbations in patients with a history of exacerbations. Other maintenance long-acting bronchodilators-salmeterol, formoterol, and budesonide/formoterol-are FDA approved to treat airway obstruction in COPD but lack an approved indication against exacerbations. FDA warnings on the use of long-acting beta-adrenergic agents (LABAs) in asthma specifically exempt COPD and do not apply to LABA/inhaled corticosteroid combinations used in COPD. The actual effectiveness achieved in practice with any COPD therapies depends on patients' inhaler technique, adherence, and persistence. Medication usage rates and inhaler proficiency may be improved by concordance, in which the health care provider and patient collaborate to make treatment plans sustainable in the patient's daily life. Practice redesign for whole-patient primary care provides additional tools for comprehensive COPD management. Innovations such as group visits and the patient-centered medical home provide newer ways to interact with COPD patients and their families. Patient-focused and evidence-based options enable primary care practices to manage COPD longitudinally and improve patient outcomes through the course of the disease.

Epidemiology and burden of nasal congestion.

Nasal congestion, which may be described as fullness, obstruction, reduced airflow, or being "stuffed up," is a commonly encountered symptom in clinical practice. Systematic study of congestion has largely considered it as a component of a disease state. Conditions associated with congestion include nasal polyposis, obstructive sleep apnea, and anatomic variation; however, most information on the burden of congestion comes from studies of allergic rhinitis and rhinosinusitis, diseases of which congestion is the major symptom. Congestion can be caused by other rhinologic conditions, such as non-allergic rhinitis, viral or bacterial rhinitis, and vasomotor rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis affects as much as one quarter of the population worldwide and imposes a significant economic burden. Additionally, allergic rhinitis significantly impairs quality of life; congestion causes allergic rhinitis sufferers decreased daytime productivity at work or school and reduces night-time sleep time and quality. Annually, rhinosinusitis affects tens of millions of Americans and leads to approximately $6 billion in overall health care expenditures; it has been found to be one of the most costly physical conditions for US employers. Given the high prevalence and significant social and economic burden of nasal congestion, this symptom should be a key consideration in treating patients with rhinologic disease, and there continues to be a significant unmet medical need for effective treatment options for this condition.

Expanding choices in intranasal steroid therapy: summary of a roundtable meeting.

Intranasal steroids (INSs) are recommended as first-line treatment for allergic rhinitis (AR) and a wealth of data exist supporting them as safe and effective. Our goal was to develop a consensus to help physicians choose between INSs by focusing on clinical profiles and patient preferences and providing expert advice on choosing the appropriate INS for each patient. Experts from specialties that manage patients with AR attended a roundtable meeting to discuss INS therapy. Besides comparisons with other pharmacologic agents, they examined the effects of INS on nasal anatomy, patient preferences for INS, and benefits of product selection based on patient profile. The literature on INSs in AR was reviewed, examining properties of the various drugs, delivery devices, formulations, and patient preference data. Nasal anatomy and physiology must be considered to optimize INS deposition in the nose. Teaching patients proper technique for using INS devices is important to prevent nasal injury and may help concentrate drug effect on affected tissues. INS therapies differ somewhat in biological properties and specific formulation; however, all are considered safe and effective treatment for AR. Patients exhibit different clinical profiles, which play a role in INS selection. Patients can clearly identify sensory characteristics of INS and therefore establish product preference. Patient preference also can guide physicians in choosing the appropriate agent for each patient. Control of AR requires a systematic approach to treatment selection and follow-up. Treatment selection should be matched with clinical profile and patient preferences.

Long-acting beta-agonists role in asthma management.

The LABAs have played an important role in the management of asthma over the past decade. They are of clear benefit in reducing asthma-related symptoms and improving lung function when used in combination with an anti-inflammatory agent. Studies have shown, however, that their use has been associated with various negative outcomes, which has led to a restricted indication for salmeterol xinafoate (Serevent Diskus) and fluticasone propionate and salmeterol xinafoate (Advair Diskus), along with medication guides that will be given to patients with every new and refill prescription. Convincing data now exist that show an association of salmeterol with an increase in asthma-related deaths and life-threatening experiences, while formoterol is associated with more frequent serious asthma exacerbations. Nonetheless, LABAs remain an important component of asthma therapy. Further clarification about their role may occur with the release of additional analyses from SMART, as well as updated guidelines from the NAEPP Expert Panel, both expected later in 2006. In the meantime, LABAs and LABA-containing products are to be used only for patients not adequately controlled on other asthma-controller medications (eg, low- to medium-dose inhaled corticosteroids) or whose disease severity clearly warrants initiation of treatment with 2 maintenance therapies. The NHLBI/NAEPP guidelines recommend inhaled corticosteroids as the first step in controller therapy, with LABAs as an option if low- to medium-dose inhaled corticosteroids do not adequately control the patient's asthma".