Breathe Easy, Beat Strong: A unified approach to Cardiopulmonary Disorders
O'Callaghan, Johanna; Parlon, Barbara; Khogali, Sarra; Subramaniam, Abirami; Saiva, Lavanya
Patients with COPD and/or Heart Failure wait for extended periods of time before
they see a specialist and obtain diagnostic testing. This affects their clinical
outcome resulting in increased disease severity, risk of exacerbations and hospital
admissions.
Physicians treating comorbid cardiorespiratory disorders face several diagnostic and
therapeutic challenges. These include shared risk factors, similar demographics,
symptoms, pathophysiology, complex interpretation of diagnostics and frequent
pharmacological interactions. Addressing these issues requires interdisciplinary
collaboration for effective diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. Establishing
effective teamwork and care pathways is therefore crucial for improving patient
outcomes. Our solution involved implementing an integrated care model for the
assessment and management of comorbid Cardiovascular disease and COPD in a
community based setting.
In line with Sláintecare’s aim, the Dublin North West integrated care
team pioneered a combined model of care for evaluation and treatment
of patients with concomitant cardiopulmonary diseases.
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