There's no place like home: Integrating pulmonary rehabilitation into the home setting

Monaldi Arch Chest Dis. 2017 Jul 18;87(2):859. doi: 10.4081/monaldi.2017.859.

Abstract

Traditional, outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation provided to stable COPD patients leads to significant improvements in dyspnea, exercise capacity and health related quality of life. Also, when started during or shortly after a hospitalization for a COPD exacerbation, pulmonary rehabilitation improves these patient-centered outcomes and arguably reduces subsequent health care utilization and mortality. Despite these benefits, the uptake of traditional pulmonary rehabilitation remains disappointingly poor. Home-based pulmonary rehabilitation, a safe and effective alternative to traditional, center-based programs, can broaden access. While proven improvements in dyspnea, exercise capacity and health status justify implementation of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation, it would be helpful to know whether it can also decrease health care utilization and be cost-effective.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Cost of Illness
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / standards
  • Disease Progression
  • Dyspnea / etiology
  • Dyspnea / rehabilitation
  • Exercise Tolerance / physiology
  • Health Status
  • Home Care Services / statistics & numerical data*
  • Hospitalization / economics*
  • Humans
  • Mortality
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / economics
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / mortality
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / rehabilitation*
  • Quality of Life / psychology
  • Treatment Outcome