Rates of remote care delivery for patients with COPD appears to be high, with many care activities partially or completely delivered remotely, according to a study published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting specialty COPD care, researchers examined the degree to which care had moved to remote approaches and elicited both clinician and patient perspectives on what is appropriate for ongoing remote COPD care delivery via a survey and consensus-building process allowed through an online research platform. The majority of clinicians reported being able to assess symptom severity (95%), reinforce smoking cessation (84%), and refer to other healthcare resources (80%). Patients reported that remote care allowed for COPD severity assessment and starting new medications. Patients and clinicians reached consensus on the following 5 of 14 items when asked to rate the appropriateness of using remote delivery for specific care activities.
Collecting information about COPD and overall health status (77%)
Providing COPD education and developing a self-management plan (74%)
Reinforcing smoking cessation (81%)
Deciding whether patients should seek in-person care (72%)
Initiating a rescue pack (76%)
