A Social Return on Investment Analysis of Improving the Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Within the Spanish National Healthcare System.

Purpose: To define a set of proposals that would improve the current management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) within the Spanish National Healthcare System (SNHS) from a comprehensive multidisciplinary perspective and to assess the impact of its implementation from clinical, healthcare, economic, and social perspectives. Patients and Methods: A group of 20 stakeholders related to COPD (healthcare professionals, patients, and informal caregivers, among others) participated in an online Delphi process to agree on a set of 15 proposals that would improve the current management of COPD within the SNHS in four areas: diagnosis, risk stratification, management of exacerbations, and management of stable COPD. A one-year forecast-type social return on investment (SROI) analysis was used to estimate the impact that implementing the set of proposals would have in relation to the investment required. A sensitivity analysis was used to test the strength of the model when varying assumption-based data-points. Results: The hypothetical implementation of the complete set of 15 proposals would require a €668 million investment and would generate a €2079 million social impact concerning savings for the SNHS and quality of life improvements for patients and their informal caregivers, among others. Accordingly, for every euro invested in the set of proposals, a social return of €3.11 would be generated (€2.71 in the worst-case scenario and €3.62 in the best-case scenario) of both tangible (32.56%) and intangible nature (67.44%). Conclusion: Altogether, implementing this set of 15 proposals would generate a positive social impact, threefold the required investment. The results may inform decisions relative to healthcare policy and practice regarding COPD management within the SNHS, further contributing to reduce the large burden of COPD.

GEMA 4.0. Spanish Guigeline on the Management of Asthma

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How should we define and classify exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic disorder whose clinical course may be punctuated by exacerbations characterized by a sudden symptom worsening beyond the expected daily variations. Exacerbations bear clinical and prognostic relevance, and may result in marked functional and clinical deterioration. The varying presentations of COPD mean that exacerbations, although more frequent in patients with severe or very severe disease, may occur regardless of the degree of functional impairment. The new Spanish COPD Guideline (GesEPOC) has provided new insights into the management of the disease. The GesEPOC defines various disease phenotypes with different clinical, prognostic and therapeutic implications. One of these phenotypes is the so-called 'exacerbator', characterized by the incidence of an increased number of exacerbations (two or more moderate-severe exacerbations in the last year). An exacerbation must be defined by: an increase in symptom intensity occurring after a certain period of time since the last exacerbation (so that treatment failure can be excluded as the cause of the event); and the contribution of social criteria or reasons concerning the choice of therapy. The availability of certain tools to detect exacerbations would enable establishment of a homogeneous definition of exacerbation, and improved diagnosis, a suitable treatment choice and a more appropriate patient selection for clinical studies. Validated clinical questionnaires and biomarkers are the most helpful instruments to reach the above objectives. Following the clinical diagnosis of a COPD exacerbation, associated comorbidities must be evaluated and an etiologic diagnosis must be made, all of which will partially drive the choice of treatment. Once a diagnosis has been made, the severity of the exacerbation should be established in order to define where and how the patient should be treated. Based on the patient's clinical history, clinical examination and diagnostic tests, the severity will be classified in one of these four degrees: very severe, severe, moderate and mild.