Asthma patients using expensive combination inhalers may not get extra benefit
Combination inhalers increase the cost of treatment for people with asthma and may not provide extra benefit according to an article in the latest edition of Australian Prescriber.
Most adults and adolescents with asthma require an anti-inflammatory preventer (corticosteroid) inhaler. These prevent symptoms and flare-ups if taken regularly and correctly. Most of these benefits are obtained at low doses.
However, the common practice in Australia is to prescribe a combination inhaler containing a corticosteroid and a long-acting beta2 agonist, often at moderate or high doses. These combination inhalers increase the cost of treatment for patients and for government, and may not provide extra benefit for all patients.
Professor Helen Reddel (Woolcock Institute of Medical Research), Kirsty Lembke (NPS MedicineWise) and Professor Nicholas Zwar (University of Wollongong) identify that, despite preventer inhalers being subsidised by government, the cost of asthma medicines is a problem for many asthma patients.
"As clinicians, we need to be aware of the contribution out-of-pocket costs have to patients’ day-to-day adherence to treatment, and to know the cost implications of what we prescribe," Professor Reddel says.
"For some patients, offering a more affordable option may make the difference between their choosing to take a regular preventer inhaler, and ‘making do’ with a reliever alone, with the attendant risk of worse outcomes," she adds.
Read the full article.
Experts are available for interview.
