Boehringer Ingelheim and Optimum Patient Care Launch First US Primary Care Patient Registry to Improve COPD Care

RIDGEFIELD, Conn., May 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Boehringer Ingelheim and Optimum Patient Care today announced the creation of a new patient registry, APEX COPD (Advancing the Patient Experience in COPD), to better understand COPD and how it can be typically treated in primary care offices. This registry will be the first-of-its-kind, specifically designed to improve the management of patients with COPD, all in the primary care setting, which reflects the reality of the COPD patient experience.

This new registry will report findings and insights to be shared in academic journals and medical congresses. In addition, the registry will provide real-time, patient-reported information as well as relevant information from the electronic medical record (EMR) in a structured format to physicians at the point-of-care. This information will aid physicians in making a clinical judgment.

COPD is the fourth leading cause of death, affecting more than 1 in 20 adults in the United States.^1,2 Despite its high prevalence, only a fraction of people with COPD have been diagnosed and some diagnosed patients may not be getting the treatment they need.³ Primary care physicians treat the majority of COPD patients – more than pulmonologists or any other type of health care provider. However, recent research suggests greater awareness is needed among primary care physicians to ensure a more timely diagnosis and appropriate management of this chronic condition.

“Our partnership with Optimum Patient Care reflects our commitment to improving COPD treatment by working to identify and address the challenges facing primary care doctors and patients,” said Gokul Gopalan, MD, MPH, Executive Director, Head Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, Respiratory Primary Care at Boehringer Ingelheim. “For nearly a century, Boehringer Ingelheim has been committed to leading efforts to advance scientific knowledge and improve the medicine we provide at the point-of-care. By partnering with another industry leader, Optimum Patient Care, we hope to combine our expertise to bring new insights to help primary care physicians and patients make informed decisions to treat COPD.”

The registry, which will eventually enroll 3,000 COPD patients who are being treated by a primary care physician, will retrospectively and prospectively collect EMR data for patients and supplement these data through patient-reported information.

Professor David Price, the founder and CEO of Optimum Patient Care, says, “This initiative is unique from other COPD initiatives in the fact that it will combine patient-reported information with EMR data at the point-of-care. One of our big aims is to integrate this information and present it to clinicians in primary care and patients in a way that is useful, meaningful, and in a way that changes medical care.”

About COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a term that includes chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema. This disease can make breathing harder because less air is able to flow in and out of the lungs. Chronic lower respiratory diseases, which include COPD, are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, and approximately 15 million Americans have been told by a healthcare provider that they have COPD.⁴

The most common symptom of COPD is shortness of breath, especially with physical activities. Coughing, with or without mucus production, is also a common symptom of COPD. These symptoms can be misunderstood as signs of aging. COPD is usually associated with progressive airway damage and loss that cause breathing to get more difficult.

About Boehringer Ingelheim

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, Conn., is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation.

Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, the company operates globally with approximately 50,000 employees. Since its founding in 1885, the company has remained family-owned and today creates value through innovation for three business areas including human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing.

Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to improving lives and providing valuable services and support to patients and their families. Our employees create and engage in programs that strengthen our communities. Please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.us/csr to learn more about how we make more health through our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

In 2017, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about $20.4 billion (18.1 billion euros). R&D expenditure corresponds to approximately $3.4 billion (three billion euros), or 17.0 percent of its net sales.

For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.us, or follow us on Twitter @BoehringerUS.

About Optimum Patient Care

Optimum Patient Care Ltd (OPC), specializes in delivering medical research and services to improve diagnosis, treatment and care of chronic diseases within family care and specialist practices, and has provided clinical services and supported real-life research for over 14 years.

OPC drives a vision for inclusion of real-life data into all aspects of medical research while informing the translation of research into daily clinical practice via new technologies and clinical services.

Over the past decade, OPC has proven its expertise in both healthcare service provision, and the collection of data for ethically approved research purposes, globally. In the UK, OPC has established one of the largest family medicine databases, called the Optimum Patient Care Research Database (OPCRD) which holds nearly seven million anonymized electronic health records from patients in primary care.

Globally OPC has coordinated the delivery of several large-scale international registries including the iHARP database (https://iharp.org/) and the International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR) (http://isaregistries.org/).

More information can be found out about Optimum Patient Care at https://optimumpatientcare.org/

Media Contact
Chris Wahlers
Associate Director, Communications, Primary Care
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877
usnews@boehringer-ingelheim.com  
O: 203.798.4375

References

1. Barr GR, Celli B, Martinez F, et al. Physician and patient perceptions in COPD: The COPD Resource Network Needs Assessment Survey. Am J Med. 2005;118:1415.e9–1415.e17. [PubMed]
2. Lethbridge-çejku M, Rose D, Vickerie J. Vital and Health Statistics, Vol. 10. p 228. Hyattsville, MD: US Dept of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics; 2006. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2004; pp. 19–21.
3. Tinkelman DG, Price DB, Nordyke RJ, Halbert RJ. COPD Screening efforts in primary care: what is the yield? Prim Care Respir J. 2007;16:41–48. [PubMed]
4. www.cdc.gov/copd/basics-about.html. Accessed 19 Feb. 2019.

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SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.