prospective, observational study of wellinks effect on copd hospital readmissions

Conditions: COPD; Respiratory Tract Disease; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Lung Diseases

Summary: this prospective, observational study is designed to investigate clinical outcomes and collect patient feedback on the use of wellinks, an integrated virtual chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) management solution, for patients recently discharged from the hospital due to an acute exacerbation of their copd.

wellinks, an integrated virtual copd management solution consists of a combination of health coaching, bluetooth-connected devices, collection of patient-reported symptoms and medication use, and virtual pulmonary rehabilitation, all centralized by the use of a mobile-phone application (mobile app) downloaded onto a study participant's ios (iphone) or android device. the clinical objectives of this study are to determine whether utilization of wellinks can reduce the rate of hospital readmissions due to a copd exacerbation for patients recently discharged from the hospital. the nonclinical objectives of this study are to describe the experience of study participants using wellinks through the assessment of engagement with the components of wellinks, as well as by participant-reported satisfaction and perceived value (e.g., willingness to pay). qualitative feedback on the features and functionality of wellinks will be solicited.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: 1. adult (≥18 years of age with no upper age limit) 2. any sex, race and ethnicity 3. copd diagnosis 4. current hospital admission or observation status resulting from exacerbation of copd or generally including respiratory signs/symptoms indicative of difficulty breathing (e.g., need for oxygen or nebulized therapy, increased use of rescue medication) 4. telephone (landline or mobile) and internet access 5. access to a smartphone: iphone 6s or later model, running ios 14.0 or later; android 6 or later model 6. proficient in english language due to the availability of all study materials in the english language only 7. living/staying in the united states throughout the study duration 8. eligible to participate in asynchronous virtual pulmonary rehabilitation in the opinion of the investigator (e.g., patients determined to be ineligible to participate may include those with acute coronary syndrome for whom an exercise regimen is not advisable at present time) 9. willing and able to comply with study requirements 10. able to provide written informed consent exclusion criteria: 1. diagnosis of acute decompensated heart failure 2. currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study period 3. life expectancy \<17 weeks 4. current participation in other interventional clinical trials 5. current participation in a pulmonary rehabilitation program 7. enrollment in an existing wellinks program 8. unable or unwilling to cooperate with remote assessments and engagement with coaches 9. unable to comply with the study procedures in the opinion of the investigator (e.g., unlikely to be compliant, unlikely to comprehend instructions or education provided)

Keywords: exacerbation discharge hospitalization readmission virtual care digital health v1c