Pharmacy Updates in COPD Treatment

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HCP Education Shifts COPD Diagnosis Methods

By Adam Hochron
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While spirometry remains the “gold standard” for diagnosing COPD, challenges associated with the testing method led researchers to look at ways to improve knowledge about the diagnosing process through a provider education program.

In an article published in the CHEST Journal, the authors noted that spirometry is “not recommended for screening and not widely available.” 

The authors describe the CAPTURE (COPD Assessment in Primary Care to Identify Undiagnosed Respiratory Disease and Exacerbation Risk) study as “a simple case-finding tool,” which consisted of five questions to help find the diagnosis of patients with “clinically significant COPD in primary care.” 

During the study, live and online continuing education was developed and provided to primary care providers that included a presentation of COPD 101: Basic Diagnosis and Management, and a virtual discussion with investigators. 

All of the sites involved were also required to complete a pre-test to gauge their basic knowledge and a post-test to determine how much they had learned. 

The study evaluated results from 616 healthcare professionals who participated in a total of 62 sessions. The authors noted, “significant learning gains” across all sites with an aggregate relative knowledge gain of 38%.

Two hundred and sixty-seven people took part in the online module, which the authors said resulted in a 47% overall knowledge gain.

“Both live and online education demonstrated learning gains for each of the study objectives with significant increases in knowledge related to application of updated clinical practice guidelines to the diagnosis and management of patients with COPD,” the authors said. 

As part of the study, participants were asked to complete an evaluation to measure their satisfaction and intent to change. 

Of the 250 live participants and 234 online participants who completed the evaluation, 97% said the education they received “met their educational needs and reinforced/improved their current skills,” the authors said. 

Ninety-five percent said they planned to make changes to their practice as a result of their education.