An insider look: year-end 2017
COPD Insider recaps the top-viewed articles of the past year and shares what you can expect in 2018.
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Tis the season for looking back at 2017 and looking forward to what’s next. Here’s a quick overview of the past, present and future of COPD insider and COPD care.
The spirit of COPD past
Clinicians have been fighting COPD. But over the past decade, COPD has grown to become a major healthcare issue.1 It is now the fourth most common cause of death in the United States, affecting an estimated 16 million adults.1
The more recent past has seen a healthcare system struggling under its increasing burden.
In 2014, COPD-related healthcare costs exceeded $36 billion.2
In 2015, 78% of hospitals were penalized for readmission.2 Escalating costs, sicker patients and extended lengths of stay have become major challenges to the spirits of COPD treaters.
The spirit of COPD present
In the face of this growing problem, COPD care teams have shown a resilient spirit of innovation, compassion and dedication to their patients. Industry experts have shared with us solutions and first-hand knowledge of how to redefine COPD care.
Here is some of the most read COPD Insider content from 2017:
The Spirit of COPD Future
What can you expect from COPD insider in 2018? A new panel of industry leaders sharing their experience and expertise. Here’s a look at what they see as essential topics to know: Here are the newest contributors to COPD Insider who will be weighing in on those topics:
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Keith T. Kanel, MD, MHCM, FACP
Dr. Kanel is the designer, project director and principal investigator for an award-winning model of community hospital readmission reduction, The Primary Care Resource Project. Over 14,000 patients with cardiopulmonary conditions were engaged by specially trained nurse-pharmacist teams, and 30-day all-cause readmission rates were reduced by 25% over two years across the cohort. -
Krystal Craddock, BSRC, RRT-NPS, AE-C, CCM
Krystal is best known for her pioneering work as a case manager and the eye-opening outcomes it helped produce. At UCal Davis, Krystal was placed in the newly created COPD Case Manager role, quarterbacking both inpatient and outpatient care.
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Chris Landon, MD, FAAP, FCCP, CMD
For almost three decades, Dr. Landon has been the Director of Pediatrics at Ventura County Medical Center, Director of the Pediatric Diagnostic Center, and CEO of the Landon Pediatric Foundation. Through the Landon Pediatric Foundation, he received a CMS Innovation Award for CATCH (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Access to Community Health). CATCH works with a medical director, pulmonologist and a mobile team of specialists to coordinate the care of COPD patients across disparate clinical settings. -
Jerry Krishnan, MD, PhD
Dr. Krishnan is Professor of Medicine and Public Health and Associate Vice Chancellor for Population Health Sciences in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. He is responsible for developing, testing and implementing healthcare interventions to improve care, outcomes and affordability at UI. He is a leader in the field of healthcare delivery science, including methods of stakeholder engagement, clinical effectiveness and implementation science. He is a founding investigator and Chair of the Steering Committee for the COPD Outcomes-based Network for Clinical Effectiveness and Research Translation (CONCERT).
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Roberto Benzo, MD, MSc
Dr. Benzo is well known in the COPD community for his research proving the effect of motivational interviewing-based health coaching on reducing the rate of COPD-related hospital readmissions. He has also pioneered work in the field of self-management by providing a motivational interviewing blueprint that may increase patient engagement and commitment to self-management. -
Vernon Pertelle, RRT
Vernon Pertelle is the President and CEO of StratiHealth, which provides management consulting services for accountable care organizations (ACOs), hospitals and health systems, health plans and medical device and pharmaceutical companies on strategic planning, clinical integration, business development, research and project management and specialty programs for COPD. Vernon is also the President and Executive Director of Pulmonary Horizons, which provides national, regional, local and organization-specific education programs designed to improve the overall diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with COPD.
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Chikita Mann, MSN, RN, CCM
Chikita Mann is a Disability RN Case Manager Supervisor for Genex Services LLC., for the State of Georgia. Chikita has published several articles in Care Management, the official journal of the Academy of Certified Case Managers and Commission for Case Manager Certification. She has a blog called “Case Management 411” that explores issues that directly and indirectly affect care coordination.
We look forward to your spirited engagement as we work together to innovate the future of COPD care. Best wishes for the new year!
Further reading
References 2. Kaiser Health News analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Available at http://khn.org/news/medicare-readmissions-penalties-2015 and http://kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/aiming-for-fewer-hospital-u-turns-the-medicare-hospital-readmission-reduction-program/.
1. Petty TL. The history of COPD. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2006;1(1):3-14.
