Evaluating a Pharmacist-Initiated Care Bundle for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality, and management of patients with this complex disease remains a challenge. Pharmacists work within an interdisciplinary health care team to coordinate services and ensure that standards of care are met. A pharmacist-initiated care bundle provided in the outpatient setting has shown promising results in improving COPD management.

Objective: To evaluate, in the acute care setting, the effectiveness of a pharmacist-initiated COPD care bundle in improving compliance with health care measures known to improve outcomes in patients with COPD.

Methods: This retrospective chart review included patients with acute exacerbation of COPD admitted from May 14, 2019, to February 29, 2020. Completion rates for the 6 individual components of the COPD care bundle were compared between patients who did and did not receive the pharmacist-initiated intervention. A subgroup of 22 patients received the following additional interventions: documentation of the modified Medical Research Council score, assessment of COPD medications, and vaccination review and administration.

Results: A total of 106 patients were included in the analysis, 53 patients in each of the control and intervention groups. The pharmacist-initiated intervention increased completion rates for the overall COPD care bundle from 2% to 17% (p = 0.003), for provision of the COPD flare-up action plan from 4% to 79% (p < 0.001), and for provision of smoking cessation education from 0% to 36% (p = 0.04); however, there was no significant difference in assessment by a respiratory therapist. For the subgroup that received additional interventions, vaccination reviews were conducted for 21 (96%) of the 22 patients, which led to 9 (41%) receiving a guideline-recommended vaccine.

Conclusions: Pharmacist involvement in initiation of the care bundle significantly increased completion rates for the activities included in the care bundle.