A new three phase project to enhance how patients are treated for chronic respiratory conditions in primary care will go ahead thanks to a $2 million Medical Research Future Fund grant.
Community pharmacy is the common destination for consumers seeking symptom management support for chronic airway diseases. Many patients with limited diagnoses are treated for symptoms using over the counter medications.
The three phased project – spearheaded by Associate Professor Johnson George, from Monash University's Centre for Medicine Use and Safety within the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences – will include:
- A co-design phase involving stakeholders
- A case finding study in community pharmacies
- A 12-month trial in general practice evaluating a care model using artificial intelligence for improving diagnostic accuracy
- Followed by a cost effectiveness analysis.
Associate Professor George said chronic respiratory conditions are poorly managed in Australian primary care, mostly due to incorrect diagnoses.
"Community pharmacy is the most commonly used setting for seeking symptom management support by consumers. In the absence of training and/or tools to facilitate diagnosis of chronic respiratory conditions, many patients are treated symptomatically using over the counter medications," Associate Professor George said.
"Enhancing the management of chronic respiratory conditions in primary care (EMPIRIC) will be a pragmatic study of general practitioner-pharmacist-nurse collaboration integrating case finding and augmented artificial intelligence for earlier and more accurate diagnoses of COPD and asthma than usual care."
The third phase of the project will include a nested cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT). The trial will evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of an integrated model of care involving consumers, pharmacists, general practitioners and practice nurses and referral to appropriate services, including respiratory specialists, against usual care.
The five-year project involves collaborators and partners from The Alfred Hospital, CSIRO, University of Tasmania, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, Curtin University, Lung Foundation Australia, National Asthma Council, and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. CMUS co-investigators include Drs Kali Godbee, Justin Turner, Muhammad Rehan Sarwar and Kate Petrie.
