Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART) asthma action plan
Maintenance and reliever therapy (MART) is a treatment for asthma where a single combined inhaler is used for both maintenance and reliever purposes, instead of having separate preventer (brown) and reliever (blue) inhalers.
This combined treatment approach has many advantages, including:
- effectively reducing inflammation in the lungs, as well as providing quick relief from more severe asthma symptoms or asthma attacks,
- a reduction in the likelihood of asthma attacks and the need for hospitalisation,
- increased adherence to asthma treatment,
- requiring people with asthma to learn just one inhaler technique and pay for one inhaler, and
- facilitating greener respiratory healthcare by causing less carbon emissions than using SABA along with inhalers.
To support primary care healthcare professionals to understand and implement MART regimens, PCRS has produced a concise, yet informative MART action plan which can be used to effectively introduce patients to MART and support them in using it to successfully manage their asthma.
Download the action plan and start making MART moves for asthma!
Always remember, the best inhaler is the inhaler the patient will use effectively and the inhaler choice should follow a joint decision-making process.
PLEASE NOTE: The digital MART asthma action plan is fully editable online. In order to use all components effectively (specifically the image upload function) please open in Adobe Acrobat Reader where possible.
Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART) top tips article
Now is the time to make MART moves for asthma. We have been using the separate blue (reliever) and brown (preventer) inhalers for far too long. The National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) came out a decade ago, yet as a nation, we still have the highest asthma death rate in Europe. This is unsurprising, considering many patients still rely on their blue inhalers alone. However,
On Demand webinar: An introduction to Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART)
Let's be MART for asthma.
Tailoring Inhaler Devices
Inhalation is the main route for administration of drugs for conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The advantage of administering drugs by inhaler is that drugs are delivered directly to the site of action within the airways. The onset of action is rapid and systemic adverse effects are minimised. However, for an inhaler to be effective the correct drug must be prescribed and the device must be used correctly. Poor inhaler technique is common.
We are grateful to Orion Pharma (UK) Ltd for sponsoring PCRS in the development of resources for the Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART) in asthma project. The sponsor has had no input into the resource content.
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