RME Collaborative Partners With COPD Foundation on NHLBI Initiative
TRUMBULL, CT, July 31, 2020 — RME Collaborative is excited to announce a new partnership with the COPD Foundation on an educational initiative supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The goal of the initiative, funded through the NHLBI’s Learn More Breathe Better℠ Community Subcontract Program, is to support rural patients and clinicians with the use of the COPD Foundation’s mobile app. In rural and underserved areas of the United States in particular, access to COPD care and resources is often limited.
Through this project—entitled CIRCLES (Clinicians Improving the Rural COPD Landscape through Education in Self-care goals)—the COPD Foundation and RME Collaborative will help support the needs of these underserved communities by working closely with two rural healthcare systems – a federally qualified health center in northern New Mexico and a certified rural health clinic in southeastern Colorado.
The goal of the project is to empower patients to improve their COPD self-management and communication with their healthcare teams by using the COPD Pocket Consultant Guide mobile app and other available tools. The app, which has tracks for both patients and clinicians, includes helpful resources such as inhaler instruction videos, a personalized COPD action plan, and more.
“Rural and underserved areas face numerous barriers to effective COPD care, and when patients do visit the clinic, time together is often limited,” said Barbara P. Yawn, MD, MSc, MPH, Chief Science Officer at COPD Foundation. “Through this partnership with RME Collaborative, we will equip patients and busy healthcare professionals with the tools they need to improve COPD self-management and outcomes.”
“The patient perspective is incredibly important when it comes to COPD management,” said Erica Rusie, PharmD, Scientific Director at RME Collaborative. “Our goal is to empower COPD patients to take control of their health by increasing their experience with valuable self-management tools.”
About RME Collaborative
RME Collaborative aims to support the professional and educational needs of clinicians caring for patients from rural and underserved settings by providing high-quality, evidence-based continuing medical education. Through strategic partnerships and planning, RME Collaborative devises educational programs that are tailored to the specific challenges of care in rural and underserved communities.
About COPD Foundation
The COPD Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that was established to speed innovations to make treatment more effective and affordable and to undertake initiatives to expand services for COPD patients. Through partnerships centered around scientific research, education, and awareness, it aims to improve the lives of patients with COPD and related disorders to prevent and stop the progression of COPD.