An outreach program for education, support and care preplanning in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) reduced hospitalizations and saved healthcare dollars, a Canadian pilot study showed.
Emergency department visits dropped 62% and admissions fell 68% among individuals in the program, Graeme Rocker, DM, of the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and colleagues found.
Altogether, the program saved $749,000 on hospital-related costs alone in 6 months among the 89 participants with pre- and post-data, which was at least three times the annual cost of the whole program, Rocker reported here at the CHEST meeting.
Don't Forget To Breathe 