OBJECTIVES: To determined proportion of beneficiaries with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who upon discharge for an exacerbation met the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) recommended pharmacotherapy and test association between receiving pharmacotherapy and 30-day COPD-related revisit of emergency department (ED) or hospitalization.

METHODS: This was a retrospective study using Mississippi Medicaid claims data. HEDIS specifications and codes were used to identify beneficiaries age > RESULTS: 1,132 beneficiaries met the inclusion criteria. Among them, 100 (9%) received systemic corticosteroids only, 414 (37%) received bronchodilators only, and 249 subjects (22%) received both systemic corticosteroids and bronchodilators following discharge. 481 subjects (43%) had a COPD-related revisit. The HEDIS pharmacotherapy criteria was not significantly related to 30-day COPD-related revisit (OR: 0.789; 95% CI: 0.603-1.033). Analysis using therapy combinations showed a significant reduction in likelihood of revisit when taking both systemic corticosteroids and bronchodilators (OR: 0.692, 95% CI: 0.484-0.990) but not for beneficiaries receiving only systemic corticosteroids (OR: 0.834, 95% CI: 0.523-1.329) or only bronchodilators (OR: 0.833, 95% CI: 0.617-1.125).

CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate the current HEDIS measure specifications for treatment with systemic corticosteroids and/or bronchodilators may not be the best predictor of positive COPD-related outcomes. Further studies in a larger population are needed to confirm the measure specifications that best predict improved COPD outcomes.