Outcomes of a Pharmacy-Driven Inpatient Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Transitions of Care (TOC) Management Process

Background: Current data shows 30% of patients hospitalized for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) exacerbation are readmitted within 30 days. Medication management during transitions of care (TOC) has shown impact on clinical outcomes, however there is insufficient data to suggest how pharmacy TOC services might benefit this patient population. Objective: Evaluate the effects of pharmacy-driven COPD TOC services on hospital re-presentation rates. Methods: A single-center retrospective chart review conducted of patients hospitalized for a COPD exacerbation. A comprehensive admission-to-discharge TOC service was provided by early immersion pharmacy students, advanced immersion pharmacy students, and an attending pharmacist in a layered learning model. The primary outcome was 30-day re-presentation rate. Secondary outcomes were 90-day re-presentation rate, volume of interventions made and description of the service. Results: From 1/1/2019 to 12/31/2019, there were 2422 patients admitted for COPD exacerbation management and 756 patients received at least one intervention from the COPD TOC service. 30% needed a change to inhaler therapy. The provider accepted 57.8% of the recommended changes, and 36% and 33% of eligible patients received an inhaler technique education and bedside delivery of the new inhaler, respectively. Outcomes in the 30-day re-presentation and 90-day censored re-presentation rates for the intervention and control group were 28.5% vs 25.5% ( P = .12) and 46.7% vs 42.9%, respectively. Conclusion: This study did not find a significant change in 30-day re-presentation rate with a pharmacy-driven COPD TOC service. It did find that a significant number of patients admitted with COPD exacerbation may need an inhaler change, and demonstrates the utility of this kind of TOC service for identifying and correcting medication-related problems unique to this disease state. There were opportunities for improvement in percent of patients receiving the full intended intervention.