NICE aims to improve patient care for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
An estimated 3 million people in the UK suffer breathlessness, a long-term cough or other symptoms caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But only around 900,000 are ever diagnosed - and most people don’t know they have the condition until they are in their fifties. Early diagnosis could help many people enjoy a much better quality of life. There is no cure for COPD, but it is possible to help people breathe more easily.

 

With a focus on patient centered care, the updated NICE Guidelines for the care and management of COPD outline the following key priorities for implementation: 

  •      Diagnose COPD
RioMed’s Cellma contains functionally structured customized assessments that would facilitate timely diagnosis of COPD. 
  •  Stop smoking: If someone is diagnosed with COPD and they smoke, quitting the habit is essential - and NICE now advises doctors to offer medicines or nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to help people who may find this difficult.

Contained in Cellma’s assessments is a lifestyle section, which makes monitoring habits that would influence patient’s health more functional and comprehensive.

  •  Promote effective inhaled therapy: NICE recommends breathing tests to check how well the lungs work using a spirometer which measures the amount of air you can blow out. A blood test, a chest X-ray and other measures may also be used to rule out other causes of the symptoms.

All Cellma’s modules are fully integrated. Thus monitoring lab results to produce patient and service dashboards, for the purpose of data comparison, analysis and evaluation, is made simple.

  •   Provide Pulmonary Rehabilitation for those who need it: The updated guidance also recommends that people with COPD who have recently been in hospital should be offered pulmonary rehabilitation, a form of therapy involving exercise and diet.

Apart from the ability to document recommendations and plans for treatment, Cellma’s patient communication functionality would benefit both the healthcare professionals and the patients in this respect; by sending text reminders to patients to remind them of repeat visits and upcoming appointments.

Other recommendations include using non-invasive ventilation, managing exacerbations and ensuring multidisciplinary workings.

For more information: NICE Guidelines on the care and management of COPD . For further information or to set up a demonstration, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

 

Last Updated ( Monday, 07 February 2011 )