New Asthma Right Care resources for your practice or pharmacy

If you are interested in helping your patients to reduce over reliance on their asthma reliever inhalers take a look at the suite of new Asthma Right Care resources (ARC) developed by PCRS.

The new tools will enable you to:

• Get some practical tips from three clinicians who explain how practices can help their patients to reduce their over reliance on short-acting beta2 agonists (SABAs).
• Read about the 9 good care processes developed by a multidisciplinary and integrated respiratory team in Lambeth and Southwark.
• Learn about the building blocks of a good asthma review
• Use the Asthma Slide Rule to start a conversation with a colleague or a patient about SABA inhalers
• Become a SABA Guardian and share Asthma Right Care good practice with your practice or pharmacy team with the slide set and PDF playing cards you can download from the website.
• Download some Asthma Right Care SABA Guardian posters for your practice or pharmacy and encourage patients to start a conversations with their nurse or pharmacist about the way they use their SABA inhalers.

Katherine Hickman, PCRS Executive Vice Chair and ARC Clinical Lead, says: “Five years on from the National Review of Asthma Deaths, we share a responsibility to make sure people with asthma are using their medication in the best way to prevent asthma attacks and death.

“So, we’ve initiated the ARC movement by taking a stand against the overreliance on reliever inhalers experienced by many people with asthma, and the overprescribing that perpetuates this. 

“We’re partnering with others to bust myths, challenge behaviours, and make noise about living well with asthma.”

Darush Attar-Zadeh, Respiratory Lead Pharmacist Barnet CCG, RightBreathe Pharmacist, Barnet CCG, London Procurement Partnership and specialist in ARC, says: “’Suffering with’ asthma? Or ‘living with’ asthma? ARC takes a far more positive approach, challenging thoughts and behaviours around SABA over-reliance in asthma. I’m delighted there are so many great tools to empower patients and clinicians. A well managed asthma patient, means far less SABA (breathless) moments and being confident to live life to the full.”