Phone-Based palliative care shows promise for COPD patients

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Patients Inclusion criteria (must meet ALL of the following): 1. ≥60 years; 2. COPD on routinely collected spirometry (FEV1/FVC \<0.70 + FEV1\<80%); 3. Able to speak English; 4. At least one of the following: 4a) Severe breathlessness as defined by a documented modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale Score \>2 in the medical record or any of the following levels of severe breathlessness by medical review: breathless after walking about 100 yards, breathless after a walking few minutes on level ground, or too breathless to leave the house or when dressing); OR, 4b) ≥1 hospitalization in the year prior but \>30 days from enrollment; OR, 4c) On supplemental oxygen (exertional or continuous). Exclusion criteria (can be excluded for ANY of the following): 1. No access to a dedicated telephone service; 2. Recent hospitalization for any reason or exacerbation of COPD in the past 30 days or ongoing exacerbation symptoms requiring treatment with antibiotics and steroids; 3. Treated within the past 60 days for an advanced cancer defined as metastatic and/or recurrent/progressive stage III/IV cancer, including brain, lung, breast, gynecologic, head and neck, gastrointestinal, genitourinary cancer, and hematologic malignancies by self report or chart review; 4. Active schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, suicidal ideations, or substance abuse by self-report or chart review (Active means currently being treated for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or suicidal ideations or having active and untreated major depressive disorder, i.e. not under the care of a clinician or not on medications such as antidepressants or mood stabilizers, or having active and untreated substance abuse, i.e. not on medication or enrolled in a substance abuse program); 5. Non-correctable hearing impairment (i.e. hearing impairment despite hearing aids); 6. Severe cognitive impairment (score ≤3 points on 6-item Callahan Screener): a) Correctly identify current year (1 point); b) Correctly identify current month (1 point); c) Correctly identify current day (1 point); d) Correctly recall "apple" after 5 minutes (1 point); e) Correctly recall "table" after 5 minutes (1 point); f) Correctly recall "penny" after 5 minutes (1 point). Care partners Inclusion criteria (must meet ALL of the following): 1. ≥18 years; 2. Self-reporting as "an unpaid spouse or care partner, relative, or friend who knows \[the patient\] well and is involved in their medical care"; 3. Able to speak English. Exclusion criteria (can be excluded for ANY of the following): 1. No access to a dedicated telephone service; 2. Active schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, suicidal ideation, or substance abuse by self-report (Active schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, suicidal ideation, or substance abuse by self-report or chart review (Active means currently being treated for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or suicidal ideations or having active and untreated major depressive disorder, i.e. not under the care of a clinician or not on medications such as antidepressants or mood stabilizers, or having active and untreated substance abuse, i.e. not on medication or enrolled in a substance abuse program); 3. Non-correctable hearing impairment (i.e. hearing impairment despite hearing aids); 4. Severe cognitive impairment (score ≤3 points on a 6-item Callahan screener): a) Correctly identify current year (1 point); b) Correctly identify current month (1 point); c) Correctly identify current day (1 point); d) Correctly recall "apple" after 5 minutes (1 point); e) Correctly recall "table" after 5 minutes (1 point); f) Correctly recall "penny" after 5 minutes (1 point)