Pennsylvania Study Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Exacerbations (PA-SCOPE)

The overall purpose of PA-SCOPE is to determine why black and rural residents of Pennsylvania might be at higher risk for deadly, debilitating, and costly hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)- and then to show that repeat acute exacerbations in high-risk patients can be reduced with one simple intervention. We believe that 1) COPD patients who are black or who live in rural areas of Pennsylvania are at higher risk of acute exacerbations requiring hospitalization and 2) this elevated risk can be reduced with one simple intervention: access to a 1-800 Temple Call Center where patients can get immediate customized advice on managing COPD exacerbations in their early stages. We will test these beliefs in PA-SCOPE. The collaborators with Temple University Hospital on the PA-SCOPE project are Lancaster General Hospital, Western Pennsylvania Hospital, and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.