SAN FRANCISCO — Longer drive times to health services impact COPD care access for U.S. veterans, researchers reported at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.
“Rural residents with COPD experience worse outcomes compared to patients who reside in urban areas,” Arianne K. Baldomero, MD, MS, assistant professor in pulmonary, allergy, critical care and sleep medicine at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System and University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, said during the presentation. “They have higher 30-day mortality, and those hospitalized with COPD