COPD Digest

HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY
Improving Care of COPD Patients Through Online Resources
H
aving access to accurate, practical and
easily understandable information is
essential to appropriately recognize,
evaluate and manage chronic conditions such as
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( C O P D ) .
Depending on the websites y o u choose to view, the
Internet can be a useful resource for information.
However, m u c h of the online data regarding C O P D is
outdated, confusing and at times incorrect. Inaccurate
information may confuse patients w i t h C O P D and
may perpetuate suboptimal recognition, evaluation
and management of these patients by busy healthcare
professionals. I t may be difficult to find the time or resources to attend high-quality seminars w i t h accurate
and practical information. As a solution to these challenges, we developed some useful and accurate online
resources for C O P D patients, their caregivers and
healthcare professionals.
34 I COPD DIGEST • Volume 11, Number 1 • www.copddigest.org
The Animated C O P D Patient: A n Animated
Patient's Guide to Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease- www.animatedcopdpatient.com
One of the m a i n goals of this website is to provide
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accurate and useful information to empower patients
and their caregivers to effectively deal w i t h this
potentially devastating disease. Better communication
between C O P D patients, their caregivers and their
healthcare professionals leads to better health outcomes. The website is free to use and features brief
videos on topics such as C O P D symptoms, risk
factors, complications, diagnosis and treatment.
Animations, insights, and experiences of C O P D
experts and patients are available on the site for
visitors to review at their own leisure.
Web-based, Interactive Professional
Education in COPD- www.wipediseases.org
Despite advances identifying and managing
patients w i t h COPD over the last 20 years, many gaps
still exist between how care should be delivered and
how it is actually b e i n g provided i n clinical practice.
Data have shown that many C O P D patients do not
receive the best treatments according to current
guidelines. So what can be done to help busy
healthcare professionals provide the best care for
Healthcare professionals who indicate on the
WipeCOPO™ registration page that they learned
of the site from the COPD Foundation will have
25% of their registration fee donated by the
WipeDiseases Foundation to the POPD Fopd^tei
their C O P D patients? One solution we developed
is a Web-based, Interactive Professional Education
i n COPD (WipeCOPD™) program. O u r website helps
healthcare professionals catch up on the "latest and
To learn more visit www.wipediseases.org or scan
this QR code w i t h your smartphone.
greatest" C O P D information. Teaching clinicians the
best ways to treat C O P D w i l l ultimately help patients
feel better, be more active and do m u c h better overall.
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