Appointment demand reduced by 30% due to successful Patient Support Service for COPD.
The Challenge
Patients who suffer with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, COPD, often have poor self-management. Therefore, COPD patients generally have more frequent interactions with the healthcare system and subsequently represent a significant cost to commissioners.
Aligning national COPD support services to weather conditions can help patients stay healthy. However, there can be other local and sometimes practical factors which increase the risk of exacerbations, resulting in avoidable use of healthcare services.
The Solution
The Camden borough of London, worked with iPLATO to create a dedicated patient support service to help people with COPD take control of their own health through effective self-management. iPLATO delivered a rapid patient recruitment campaign through the myGP Population Health Service platform. The programme sought to enrol COPD patients across 27 GP practices in a weekly broadcast service. This was in partnership with holistic and localised support services to more effectively target COPD patients in the Camden area.