Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the 4th leading cause of death in the United States and 12 million Americans don't even know that they have it.

People with breathing problems can be screened for COPD using a questionnaire called the COPD- Population Screener. If this questionnaire were available online, it could lead to more people discussing the possibility of COPD with their physicians.

A diagnosis with COPD can be predicted based on age, smoking history, breathlessness, cough, and impact of breathing problems on activity level. A recent study, "Examining Web Equivalence and Risk Factor Sensitivity of the COPD-Population Screener," published in Value in Health, demonstrates that the online version of the COPD- Population Screener questionnaire can be used in addition to , or instead of, the previously developed paper version of the questionnaire. The study was co-authored by Jennifer Beaumont, David Victorson, Katy Wortman, David Cella (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine), Jun Su, Hemal Shah (Boehinger-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), and Christine Baker (Pfizer, Inc.).

Says Ms. Beaumont, the lead author and study statistician, "While flexibility in questionnaire format (e.g., paper, internet, telephone interview) would greatly improve the reach of this screening tool, it is important to ensure that changes in format do not affect the usefulness of the information collected. The COPD-Population Screener questionnaire can now be used online with confidence that the questions and scoring calculations that were rigorously developed for the paper version still apply."

Source:
ISPOR