| To promote communication between the members of the health care team caring for COPD patients a label was developed to be attached to the progress notes of the patient's chart. The label identified patients with COPD, the inability to perform ADL's, a need for education of medicines or disease process, and/or a history of smoking, frequent admissions for SOB, or multiple respiratory infections. Patients receiving a label were considered candidates for a pulmonary rehabilitation program. The project took place in a 250 bed acute care facility. Ten labels were used by staff nurses or respiratory therapists in the four week period, during which 55 patients were admitted for COPD. Of the ten patients identified by the labels, three were enrolled in some form of pulmonary rehabilitation. This was not an increase from previous methods of identifying and enrolling patients to pulmonary rehabilitation. |
