Involve community pharmacists in COPD care, study says
By HME News Staff
Updated Wed November 6, 2013
OXFORD, England - COPD patients working with community pharmacists stick with their medications and have improved inhalation techniques, a recent study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology suggests. Patients in the study's intervention group learned about their disease, medication and how to use inhalers. They also discussed disease management, quitting smoking and adherence. “This trial should encourage community pharmacists to engage in COPD care aiming to sustain an effective and safe pharmacotherapeutic treatment in patients with COPD,” study authors wrote. While patients working with pharmacists stuck with their medication and improved inhalation techniques, investigators did not find that they decreased their moderate exacerbation rate, dyspnea or smoking habits.
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