Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted
specialty chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
care. We examined the degree to which care has moved
to remote approaches, eliciting clinician and patient
perspectives on what is appropriate for ongoing remote
delivery.
Methods: Using an online research platform, we
conducted a survey and consensus-building process
involving clinicians and patients with COPD.
Results: Fifty-five clinicians and 19 patients responded.
The majority of clinicians felt able to assess symptom
severity (n=52, 95%), reinforce smoking cessation (n=46,
84%) and signpost to other healthcare resources (n=44,
80%). Patients reported that assessing COPD severity and
starting new medications were being addressed through
remote care. Forty-three and 31 respondents participated
in the first and second consensus-building rounds,
respectively. When asked to rate the appropriateness
of using remote delivery for specific care activities,
respondents reached consensus on 5 of 14 items:
collecting information about COPD and overall health
status (77%), providing COPD education and developing
a self-management plan (74%), reinforcing smoking
cessation (81%), deciding whether patients should seek inperson care (72%) and initiating a rescue pack (76%).
Conclusion: Adoption of remote care delivery appears
high, with many care activities partially or completely
delivered remotely. Our work identifies strengths and
limitations of remote care delivery