A prognostic COPD clinical support system

Hospital readmission is an important quality of care indicator. It reflects challenges in quality of in-patient care and the difficulty of coordination of care after the transition back into the community. It is also a significant financial burden, especially as it relates to Medicare and Medicaid costs now and into the future. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide, and is expected to become the third cause of death and fifth cause of disability adjusted life years in 2020. So it is a quality, cost and demographic imperative to design and develop prognostic clinical support systems to better manage patients with this condition so as to simultaneously improve the quality of care while controlling costs through avoiding preventable hospital readmissions for patients with COPD.