Use of telemedicine in the assessment of patients referred for pulmonary rehabilitation

RATIONALE: Due to the high global prevalence and economic burden of COPD, there is growing interest in new approaches to reduce the time from referral to assessment for rehabilitation, especially among those in remote communities. OBJECTIVES: To describe the structure of a pilot teleconsultation (TC) service for people referred for inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) and the characteristics of patients seen over four years. METHODS: Patient …