Pulmonary rehabilitation for the elderly.

The elements of a pulmonary rehabilitation program require a variety of different skills. However, the number of people involved in a rehabilitation program will vary with the clinical setting and the number of patients served. In a large program, a physician, respiratory nurse, physical and occupational therapist, psychologist, social worker, respiratory therapist, and dietitian might all be involved on a full- or part-time basis. In other settings, two or three individuals, mostly working part-time, may be the entire team. Pulmonary rehabilitation may be performed on an outpatient basis, in a group practice setting, or in an inpatient hospital unit. Whatever its size, a system must be developed that allows for thorough initial evaluation of patients, formation of rational goals with the patient, adequate time for patient education and training, ongoing re-enforcement to consolidate and maintain gains, and an appropriate means of intervention when the patient experiences an exacerbation of his disease. It should also be recognized that in many areas of the country, there are too few patients and scarce medical resources to mount an intensive pulmonary rehabilitation program. In such instances, referral can be made to larger medical centers. More importantly, the individual practitioner can successfully incorporate many of the elements of pulmonary rehabilitation into his practice by taking the time and effort necessary to ascertain how illness affects the daily lives of the patient with COPD and then addressing patient concerns in an ongoing, comprehensive manner.