The National COPD Audit - what you need to know

John R Hurst; Viktoria McMillan; C Michael Roberts

doi:10.7861/clinmed.2019-0202

The National COPD Audit - what you need to know

Clin Med (Lond). 2019 Nov 15;19(6):499-502. doi: 10.7861/clinmed.2019-0202.

Authors

John R Hurst¹, Viktoria McMillan², C Michael Roberts³

Affiliations

¹ University College London, London, UK j.hurst@ucl.ac.uk.
² Royal College of Physicians, London, UK.
³ The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow, UK and NACAP senior clinical lead, Royal College of Physicians, London, UK.

Abstract

The secondary care work stream of the National COPD Audit Programme aims to improve care and outcomes for patients with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) wherever and whenever they are admitted to hospital. To achieve this, prospective audit is combined with real-time feedback of data to individual units, together with support for quality improvement and high-level change levers. COPD exacerbations comprise a large proportion of the acute take. Only by working collaboratively across emergency, acute and general medicine, respiratory, geriatric and other teams can individual trusts deliver optimal care. This review provides background to the national COPD audit programme, relevant to all those caring for people with COPD exacerbations in secondary care.

Keywords: COPD; NACAP; quality improvement.

Publication types

Review