It's no secret that many of our chronic respiratory illness patients need better education for disease management. In fact, there are a great number of lectures at AARC Congress 2013 dedicated to this topic. However, every now and then, something happens that brings this fact screaming to the front of my brain.
Last week, I was reading yet another article about how inhaler training is inadequate (http://www.physiciansbriefing.com/Article.asp?AID=681550). As I sipped my coffee, I just shook my head sadly. "We need to get respiratory therapist into the physicians offices," I thought to myself. (Spoiler...here comes my daily endorsement of HR 2619.) If we could get coverage for respiratory therapists to deliver education in outpatient settings, we could make a HUGE contribution to the wellness of these folks. Anyway, I finished reading the article and got back to work.
Today, I was chatting with a group of ladies with COPD. These gals are all COPD stage 4, FEV1 of 30% or lower. They are constantly looking for ways to improve their quality of life. I decided to inquire as to their MDI usage and whether or not they used a spacer (because I'm a big advocate for spacers). The responses I received were horrifying...
"I have never been given one (or knew about it)."
"We have been told to put 6 puffs into the spacer."
"A nurse gave me one years ago and just told me to use it."
The good news is that there is an Aerosol Delivery Guide for Patients that I was able to pass along (http://www.aarc.org/resources/aerosol_resources/#patient). The ladies were happy to have the reference (and the Portable Oxygen Concentrator one, too) but the fact that these people have been struggling with COPD for years with minimal medication delivery training is just sad.
Keep fighting the good fight, my RT friends. We ARE making a difference out there.