Outcomes from a Respiratory Coordinated Care Program (RCCP) providing community-based interventions for COPD patients from 1998 to 2006.

The Respiratory Coordinated Care Program (RCCP) based at St George Hospital, is a specialised community program designed to assist people with advanced COPD (DRG groupings E65A/E65B) to live optimally well at home. The aim of the program is to reduce hospital admission rates, readmission rates, and hospital length of stay (LOS). Additional components of RCCP include a Pulmonary Rehabilitation program and an early discharge service. An improvement in patient outcomes over subsequent years 1998-2006, is demonstrated when compared to the national peer DRG with regards to LOS, readmission rates and hospital admissions per patient per year, pre and post recruitment to the RCCP. The chronic long term component of the RCCP shows that the mean LOS and the number of hospital admissions was significantly lower when compared to the national DRG average. Since its inception, the RCCP has consistently demonstrated a cost effective reduction in hospital admission rates, LOS and reduced readmission.