Improving Patient 's Quality And Longevity Of Life

I will analyse the prevalence of the condition and what the potential causes may be. My interests have been directed to pre hospital care and community lead treatment packages, which are potentially available to the patient, as this is the acute environment, which I will have contact with in my employment as a paramedic. The initial reading was to understand COPD as a chronic condition, what is COPD? and its prevalence in the population. The (World health organisation, 2000), states that one in four deaths in the world are caused by COPD. In 2010 (Vos T Flaxman etal, 2012), says globally there were approximately 329 million, which is 4.8% of the population who are affected by this chronic condition, In the UK (NICE, 2010), have estimated that 3 million people suffer from COPD, with more yet to be diagnosed. This information about the amount of people living with this condition was surprising, as I little knowledge of its existence. During the early 1960’s (Timothy Q. Howes, 2005), says the term COPD had been designated as a single term unifying all the chronic respiratory diseases. Since then the term COPD, has been sub divided in to three umbrella areas, Bronchitis, Emphysema and Chronic asthma, which are separate conditions, which I have been previously aware of as their individual conditions. The 58 year old patient who we visited,

The nursing role in pulmonary rehabilitation includes one on one sessions with patients to cover more in-depth education of the disease process including actual anatomy and physiology of the pulmonary system. After that has been covered then the nurses can focus on causes of COPD, symptoms of the disease and management of them, diet, pulmonary exercise, medications for COPD and compliance issues, and most importantly smoking cessation. The nurses will likely require the patient to give return demonstrations of the medication use and pulmonary exercises such as pursed lip breathing (Mohammadi, Jowkar, Khankeh & Tafti, 2013).

COPD is one of the many preventable diseases that health care providers deal with. Nurses needs to familiarize themselves with this disease process and how it affects the body, preventative methods, and treatment plans, so that they can be well informed when it comes to patient education. Education is a big part of nursing and considering COPD is the third leading cause of death, nurses will be in frequent contact with

This model reimburses hospitals based on quality of care instead of the volume of patients. The quality of care is assessed by patient questionnaires and if hospitals are unsatisfactory penalties may be imposed (Edwoldt, 2012). The value-based system also affects Medicare and Medicaid. It was reported that Medicare readmissions within 30 days of discharge cost 17 billion dollars annually (Edwoldt, 2012). Due to the high costs of readmissions Medicare and Medicaid have implemented a Hospital Readmission Reduction program. A formula is utilized to evaluate readmission rates within 30 days of discharge for any medical reason related to their original admission such as heart failure and pneumonia. Upon review the hospital is potentially penalized. It is important that nurses strive to provide excellence in care despite their beliefs on the ACA. Nurses have the ability to provide a safe patient environment and reduce the risk of hospital associated infections by following hospital protocols such as hand washing.

In 2013 an average of one out of eight Medicare patients are readmitted within a 30-day period which lead to the estimated costs of around $18 billion a year for Medicare patients alone. Hospitals will either be penalized or receive bonuses for their performance with readmissions. This program will encourage hospitals to concentrate on ways to improve coordinating transitions of care while improving the safety and quality of care provided. In order to

Hospitals nationwide have been striving to reduce the rate of patient readmissions. Both the federal government and private insurers are tired of picking up the tab. In a 2009 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers estimated that a year's worth of unplanned re-hospitalizations cost Medicare alone $17.4 billion. Congestive heart failure is a particularly big target, as one in four patients end up back in the hospital within 30 days of discharge. Starting in the fall of 2012, the government will cut Medicare reimbursements for hospitals with higher-than-expected 30-day readmission rates for heart failure and two other conditions: heart attack and pneumonia (Avril, 2011).

The State of Washington has applied these rules to their Medicaid population with the caveat that the readmission would be considered an avoidable readmission if it fell within 14 days of the previous stay at the safe or affiliated hospital (Payment Limits - Inpatient Hospital Services, 2011). These rulings detrimentally affect hospitals with high readmission rates among the Medicaid cohort and the actual readmission for the patient puts them at increased risk for infection and injury. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s report on this conundrum (2013), notes that one in eight Medicare patients will readmit within 30 days of a previous hospital discharge; the reasons include the patient not being able to find their discharge paperwork, not understanding their discharge paperwork, and poor discharge planning. Working to resolve these issues could therefore decrease avoidable readmissions.

The Affordable Care Act established the need for medical home model of care that focus on quality and safety, which is patient-centered and team based. The providers and care team care for patient with complex health conditions. The diseases process of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be treated with by using this model to coordinate and provided comprehensive care in the home. COPD is a progressive lung disease that can be prevented and treated. COPD consist of chronic bronchitis, which is a chronic productive cough for at least 3 months per year for at least 2 years and emphysema, which is characterized by permanent enlargement of the airspace beyond the terminal bronchiole, and is characterized by airflow limitations

The purpose of health education is to positively persuade the health behavior of individuals and committees as well as living and working conditions that influence their health. Health education is the development of individual group, community, and systemic strategies to improve health knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behavior. Health education is a social science that draws from the biological, environmental, physical, and mental sciences to promote health and prevent disease disability and premature death through education driven voluntary behavior change activities.

Further statistics have revealed around 20 percent of Medicare recipients released from hospitals were rehospitalized within thirty days and that 34 percent were readmitted within ninety days of being discharged ( Jencks, Williams, & Coleman, 2009). Additionally, Medicare will now penalize hospitals for patients who were readmitted within 30 days (Stone & Hoffman, 2010). Jenny Minott from Academy Health (2008) asserts “The transition from the inpatient to the outpatient setting is a critical point along the care continuum in which there is a real opportunity to prevent readmissions” (p. 5). Many believe that some hospital readmissions are avoidable and could be thwarted with fairly uncomplicated methods (Alper, O’Malley, & Greenwald, 2016; Anthony, Chetty, Kartha, McKenna, DePaoli, & Jack, 2005; Jacks, et al., 2009; Minott, 2008; Stone & Hoffman, 2010). Therefore, reducing hospital readmissions has been the center point of attention among hospitals, but the challenge has been identifying those components that are directly responsible for, including the quality of care during the hospitalization and the discharge planning (CDC, 2016). Wherefore, an area that needs considerable attention is the hospital discharge

All over the world, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a very significant and prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality, and it is increasing with time (Hurd, 2000; Pauwels, 2000; Petty, 2000). Due to the factor of COPD being an underdiagnosed and undertreated disease, the epidemiology (Pauwels, Rabe, 2004) is about 60 to 85 % with mild or moderate COPD remaining undiagnosed (Miravitlles et al., 2009; Hvidsten et al., 2010).

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, also known as COPD, is the third leading cause of death in the United States. COPD includes extensive lungs diseases such as emphysema, non-reversible asthma, specific forms of bronchiectasis, and chronic bronchitis. This disease restricts the flow of air in and out of the lungs. Ways in which these limitations may occur include the loss of elasticity in the air sacs and throughout the airways, the destruction of the walls between air sacs, the inflammation or thickening of airway walls, or the overproduction of mucus in airways which can lead to blockage. Throughout this paper I am going to explain the main causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and ways to reduce COPD.

Education is an important determinant of health as it plays a large role in the way an individual mentally and socially develops. Education can prepare people by preparing them for the real world by giving them the knowledge and skills (lib). For example, it can enhance an individual’s ability to collect information on personal health (lib).

What is Health education? Why is it so important? Health education is where you teach people about their health and how they can improve their daily lives. So how is Health education defined? A good example for health education is a Joint Committee on Health Education and Promotion Terminology "any combination of planned learning experiences based on sound theories that provide individuals, groups, and communities the opportunity to acquire information and the skills needed to make quality health decisions" (Joint Committee on Health Education and Promotion Terminology, 2001). As the World Health Organization explained, Health education is consciously making new opportunities for learning that involve communication which is made to improve health understanding, which includes improving knowledge, and making new life skills which are easier to the individuals and the targeted community.

Nurses are a vital component in patient care. The importance of conducting efficient nursing assessments is critical in order to provide both patient-centered care and safe, effective patient healing. Nurses are often responsible for taking care of patients with very complex disease processes. They frequently provide care to patients with illnesses such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2014, approximately 6.8 million adults were diagnosed with COPD within the Unites States. The completion of proper assessments and initiation of interventions for these patients are crucial in order to prevent further complications of the illness.