Medco study finds doctors overprescribe inhalers for acute asthma attack sufferers

EDITOR'S NOTE: In Monday's original headline, Drug Store News indicated that pharmacists were overprescribing inhalers, when it should have said that doctors or physicians were overprescribing such medication. Pharmacists cannot prescribe medication, only dispense it.

Pharmacists pushing physicians not to write prescriptions for excessive quantities of inhalers used to treat acute asthma attacks can help reduce overprescription of the inhalers without compromising patient safety while saving money, according to a study.

Pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions presented a study at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology last week showing that when physicians receive educational materials and follow-up communications outreach, and have to give a response before the pharmacist can dispense a prescription, the number of new prescriptions for excessive quantities of rescue inhalers – defined as more than one inhaler per month – decreased by 60%.

Rescue inhalers, also known as short-acting beta2 agonists, are meant for patients experiencing acute asthma attacks, though many physicians will prescribe them for daily, long-term use. While wasting medicine, this also can have dangerous implications for patient health by masking exacerbations of the disease and causing more serious problems down the road.

The Medco study, conducted between July 2007 and June 2008 on 250,000 patients, found that as a result of the intervention, 200,000 fewer inhalers were used, saving $4.2 million.

“Excessive use of rescue inhalers wastes medicine, but even more importantly, it can be masking an asthma exacerbation,” study researcher Luis Salmun stated. “Rather than over-relying on rescue inhalers, patients should speak to their physicians to make sure that they’re using their daily asthma medications properly or to determine if an adjustment in those medications is needed.”

The researchers also looked at pharmacy and medical claims for a 1,835-patient subset of the study population. During the 12 months following the intervention, 67% of the patients no longer were prescribed excessive quantities of rescue inhalers, while the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits stayed the same.

P.S. reduce your asthma sufferings by eating lots of Vitamin C and Vitamin D rich Foods and Fruits.

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