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Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab
MissionThe Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation Department provides outpatient services to patients recovering from heart and lung diseases. Our services include supervised exercise sessions, education, and encouragement in meeting the challenges of having heart or lung diseases.
ObjectivesBased on scientific studies, you may expect these benefits from participating in the program: Improvement in exercise tolerance,symptoms, blood lipid levels., psychosocial well-being and stress, and mortality, Patients can also expect reduction of number of hospitalizations and number of days hospitalized and reduction in cigarette smoking. We provide treatment options for Myocardial Infarction, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery, Angina, Angioplasty, Congestive Heart Failure, Cardiac Transplant, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Emphysema, Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis, Pulmonary Fibrosis/Interstitial Lung Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and Lung Transplant.
About Our PracticeThe Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation Department engages in physician-directed services provided by a team of health professionals including registered nurses, exercise physiologists, dietitians, pharmacists, psychologists, health educators, respiratory and physical therapists. We care for patients with a definitive diagnosis of cardiovascular or pulmonary disease or other cardiac or pulmonary conditions requiring close monitoring of exercise and risk reduction therapy.
Clinic Hours:Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday8:00 a.M. - 4:00 p.M.Tuesday and Friday9:00 a.M. - 4:00 p.M.Exercise Gym Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday6:00 a.M. - 6:00 p.M.
Address:Cardio-Pulmonary RehabilitationSpain Rehabilitation Center R4801717 6th Ave SouthBirmingham, AL 35249
Contacting the Program for Cardio-Pulmonary RehabFor more information, contact Surya Bhatt, MD via via email at sbhatt@uabmc.Edu. Patients can also contact the UAB Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab Program via phone at (205) 975-5400.
Substantial Disparities Seen In Travel Time To Pulmonary Rehabilitation
There are substantial geographic disparities in access to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programs across the United States, according to a research letter published online Feb. 5 in JAMA Network Open.
Peter A. Kahn, M.D., and Walter S. Mathis, M.D., both from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, sought to understand nationwide travel time to PR programs as a marker for PR access. PR locations were determined from livebetter.Org, and travel times were computed from the center of every census block to the 25 closest PR sites for all U.S. Continental states and Washington, D.C.
The researchers found that densely populated urban areas and major cities offered the shortest travel times, with approximately 47.8 percent of the total U.S. Population living within a 15-minute drive of a PR program. An additional 32.5 percent of the population is included by expanding this threshold to a 30-minute drive, primarily driven by residents in suburban areas surrounding these urban centers. Access was limited for individuals living in rural and sparsely populated regions, with as many as 14 million people having more than a one-hour drive to reach the nearest PR program.
"By focusing on travel times instead of geodesic distance, our findings offer a more realistic depiction of the challenges faced by many individuals, particularly those in rural and sparsely populated regions and minoritized racial and ethnic groups," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries.
Abstract/Full Text
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Study Reveals Limited Access To Pulmonary Rehabilitation For Millions Of Americans
Pulmonary rehabilitation, an essential component of care for patients with chronic respiratory conditions, is difficult for millions of Americans to access, a new Yale-led study reveals. The findings, researchers say, reveal geographic regions where this type of care is most lacking and illustrate the potential for telemedicine in helping to bridge this gap.
The study was published Feb. 5 in JAMA Network Open.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a multidisciplinary program that incorporates exercise and strategic techniques to improve quality of life and overall health for patients with respiratory conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung disease, or pulmonary hypertension. Programs typically include a structured exercise component supervised by nurses and/or exercise specialists, as well as educational sessions that teach patients techniques that can help them better manage their illness day to day, such as energy conservation, supplemental oxygen therapy, and methods for capitalizing on periods of higher energy.
It has been demonstrated across almost the entirety of pulmonary medicine to improve patient health and patient-reported outcomes. Through these programs, patients not only gain a more comprehensive understanding of their condition, but also improve their exercise tolerance in a meaningful way."
Dr. Peter Kahn, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the study
However, despite the demonstrated importance of critical pulmonary rehabilitation, many people in the United States must travel long distances to utilize programs.
For the study, researchers used massive geographic data sets and computational infrastructure to compute hundreds of millions of travel times.
Technologies enabling travel time computations at a massive scale are not just innovative but transformative, providing us with nuanced insights into national data sets previously unavailable to researchers."
Dr. Walter Mathis, senior author, psychiatrist and health services researcher at Yale School of Medicine
While around 80% of Americans live within a 30-minute drive of a pulmonary rehabilitation program, the researchers found, over 14 million people -; mostly living in the country's western and mid-western regions -; must travel more than an hour away for access to their nearest offering.
They also uncovered racial disparities in access to pulmonary rehabilitation. For example, nearly 30% of the American Indian and Alaska Native population lives more than an hour away from the closest program.
"Access to programs within a reasonable amount of travel time is key," said Kahn. "First, many patients with chronic respiratory conditions require oxygen supplementation. Long commutes may mean they have to transport multiple oxygen tanks or battery supplies, which may cause patients to forgo the treatment. Second, because exertional intolerance is a symptom of these diseases, long travel can be incredibly taxing and also serve as a barrier to participation."
Telemedicine and virtual rehabilitation can help bridge this gap need in the short term, said Kahn, though the long-term effectiveness of this approach across different diseases still needs additional evaluation.
Helping patients in the long term will require more accessible in-person rehabilitation options, he added. That will require collaboration between policy makers and health care providers and different approaches to insurance reimbursement.
"Insurance payers, both government and private, do not sufficiently reimburse pulmonary rehabilitation programs for the people, equipment, and supplies needed to effectively run them," said Kahn. That represents a barrier to offering these programs. Of equal importance, insurance limits how many rehabilitation sessions a patient can attend, he added.
"If you're someone with a chronic respiratory condition like advanced COPD, you really need ongoing therapeutic sessions," he added. "But right now, payers limit patients to a small number of lifetime sessions relative to the long-term burden of the disease. And that needs to change."
Source:
Journal reference:
Kahn, P. A., & Mathis, W. S. (2024). Accessibility of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in the US. JAMA Network Open. Doi.Org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.54867.
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