Lung Disease Rehabilitation
Lung Disease Rehabilitation
Pulmonary rehabilitation is most often conducted in a group setting. Most of the time, a group provides the mutual support of patients experiencing similar challenges. Ideally, a full team of therapeutic professionals works with the patients. Education provides the background and reasons to pursue a rehabilitative effort, while training in techniques builds skills and habits to manage the illness. Family members, especially caregivers, are encouraged to participate.
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Pulmonary rehabilitation begins with a referral. The patient is evaluated for qualifying diagnosis, disease severity, and the ability to exercise safely. Goals are identified. Therapists evaluate for their specific discipline and set goals for their patient. The program proceeds with a coordinated team effort with the patient empowered to make decisions and continually examine program goals and outcomes. Team meetings are held regularly in order to access the progress of each area of knowledge, skill, and technique. Problem solving ensues, which includes the patient, the family (caregiver), and the team. Medications are adjusted and medical issues are recognized and managed. Patients are encouraged and reinforced.
Lung Disease (COPD) comes with many challenges for both the patient and the patient’s family. The disease can be both physically and emotionally difficult to live with and can affect the patient’s quality of life if symptoms are left unmanaged.
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Paramount Home Health Services offers a Lung Disease Program to help both patient and family cope with the disease and significantly improve their overall wellbeing. Disease management focuses on the early recognition and management of a changing medical state. A unique aspect of our approach is to use daily exercise as a modality for self-evaluation. Patients are taught not only to monitor themselves during daily life but also to focus on changes in dyspnea, effort, fatigue, and other important indicators during their exercise program. Small changes occurring during exercise stress may signal that an issue is starting to present, and the more significant medical issue may be averted by adjusting medications and/or oxygen supplementation, avoiding exposure to irritant materials, and numerous other items that may give rise to an exacerbation or decrease in function. Patients are therefore encouraged to keep activity logs of their experiences and, if small changes are noted that may lead to an exacerbation, either continue to monitor closely or implement the action plan and notify the physician.
As the disease is progressive, the challenges to successful management increase over time. Each exacerbation hospitalization renders the next acute care hospitalization more likely and more acute. Disease management is not acute and does not have a restorative component. It focuses on the long-term disease management process, allowing the patient and physician to actively manage the disease in a timely and direct manner.