Non-invasive ventilation as part of a multi-faceted intervention approach successfully reduced readmission rates among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, according to a study funded and coauthored by Royal Philips and published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Fifteen million adults in the U.S. live with COPD, one of the conditions subject to Medicare penalties for readmitting patients too often within 30 days of discharge. Researchers evaluated 397 COPD patients who were hositalized two or more times within a year and transitioned to a COPD pain management program, which included treating those same patients with noninvasive positive pressure ventilation. Other aspects of the study's treatment protocol included respiratory therapist-led care, medication reconciliation and adequate provision of oxygen therapy. In the past, readmission rates within 30 days of discharge for patients with COPD were 22.6 percent. The study showed that the multi-faceted approach led to a reduction in the readmission rate by 97 percent. Study