Inhalation therapy: help patients avoid these mistakes.

For patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), inhalation therapy is the foundation of treatment. Yet all too often, patients don’t get the full value of their inhaled medications because they use their inhaler incorrectly. When technique is markedly flawed, suboptimal outcomes typically result. Given the number of Americans with asthma (at least 22 million) and COPD (more than 13 million adults), faulty inhaler technique is a major public health problem. In fact, the number of people suffering from COPD may be even larger: Close to 24 million US adults are believed to have impaired lung function. For patients with asthma or COPD—many of whom are treated by family physicians—comprehensive education with a focus on correct use of an inhaler is essential. In this review, we present evidence of frequent inhaler errors (from clinical studies) and highlight some of the more common mistakes (based on our clinical experience [TABLE]). Finally, we offer ‘‘time-efficient’’ solutions to inhaler problems—steps that physicians in busy primary care practices can take to ensure that patients with asthma or COPD get the maximum benefit from inhalation therapy.