NHS develops dashboard to identify possible over-prescribing of prednisolone The dashboard calculates the total cumulative dose of prednisolone prescribed to patients in England in the past 12 months, allowing those at risk to be considered for alternative treatment methods.…
More than 90% of lung disease patients say community pharmacy services are vital, survey finds Results of a survey by the Taskforce for Lung Health found that patients valued community pharmacies because they are close to home, there is no need to make an appointment and they have convenient opening times.…
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: diagnosis and management Early diagnosis and medicines optimisation are fundamental to ensure timely and appropriate treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and improve a patient’s quality of life.…
Blue, brown and now green The ‘NHS long-term plan’ has called for a shift towards inhalers with a lower carbon footprint.…
Salbutamol inhaler prescribing jumped 60% at start of COVID-19 pandemic The number of some inhalers prescribed by GPs in England increased by 63% between February 2020 and March 2020, according to data analysed by The Pharmaceutical Journal.…
Daily multidisciplinary team meetings could cut COPD hospital stays Daily multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings significantly reduced the length of hospital stay for patients with COPD, a study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association has found.…
Community pharmacy service improves inhaler technique, study shows Dedicated community pharmacy services can improve inhaler technique for almost all patients, a study presented at the British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting has shown.…
First reusable, propellant-free inhaler launched to cut plastic waste The first reusable, propellant-free inhaler is now available for patients with asthma and COPD, in line with NHS plans to reduce its carbon footprint and plastic waste.…
Point-of-care testing cuts antibiotic use in COPD Point-of-care C-reactive protein testing reduces antibiotic use in people with acute COPD exacerbations, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine has shown.…
Switching inhalers can boost adherence Inhaler switching in asthma and COPD is not associated with negative impacts on patients’ health, study results published in Thorax have shown.…
