The Problem:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Heart Failure (HF) are two leading causes of Healthcare cost in the United States. COPD and HF patients suffer high readmission rates within 30 days post-discharge, increasing overall health-care cost and reducing the quality of healthcare.
The Solution:
Researchers at the University of Tennessee have developed an easy to administer, subjective assessment that is easy for patients to comprehend and can be accessed via mobile-web applications. Incorporating Perceived Activity and Weakness Score Application (PAWS) into hospital discharge practices will encourage patients to recognize personal levels of physical limitations each day, supports a patient-centered approach to health monitoring post-discharge, and facilitate responsibility towards recovery efforts and health management by the patients themselves
Benefits:
? Reduce the readmission rates for patients with COPD or Heart Failure
? Reduce overall health-care cost
? Improved quality of health-care
? Improve patient well-being upon discharge
Inventor:
Dr. Rajiv Dhand, MD is a Professor and Chairman in the Department of Medicine at UT. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree in pulmonary medicine from the Postgraduate Institute in Chandigarh, India and his research interests include aerosolized therapies.