Making Best Practice, Every Day Practice
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Summer is here and time for a new issue of the BJPCN – packed full of
useful information and news from the respiratory and allergy world.
We cover a lot of different topics in the main articles this month – from
pleural effusions to angioedema, from asbestosis to urticaria. A scan
through the summaries of the latest research in the Evidence in Practice
section will reveal interesting studies with dogs, trees and alcohol! Have
a great read.
Bronchiectasis is characterised by abnormal, permanent distortion and dilation of one or more of the medium-sized bronchi (>2 mm). It occurs most commonly as a consequence of infection or inflammation. Although relatively uncommon, bronchiectasis is an important and probably under-diagnosed condition and it often coexists with COPD. Accurate diagnosis and appropriate management are needed to reduce the symptoms that patients experience. Primary care professionals need to be alert to the signs and symptoms of bronchiectasis to ensure quick referral to specialist services.
To be able to effectively manage patients with
airflow obstruction in general practice it is
imperative that we can differentiate between
asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD). Although COPD and asthma share many
clinical features, they are different conditions with
different airway inflammation and parenchymal
patterns.
More than half of people with asthma in the UK have inadequate symptom control,
despite the range of effective therapies now available. Rather than blaming
patients when they fail to take their medications as prescribed, we need to
examine the way we conduct asthma consultations and ask whether we are failing
to meet the needs of individual patients. How can we gain greater understanding about what
people with asthma want from healthcare professionals and treatments, so we can achieve a
more patient-centred approach to care?
Good self-management is obviously a central part of achieving effective control of any
chronic condition. It is particularly important in asthma to help patients manage
exacerbations, which can sometimes develop with little warning and with serious
consequences. This article provides a step-by-step guide to developing effective selfmanagement
plans for patients with asthma by providing practical solutions to key questions
underpinning the process.
It’s birthday celebrations all round. We are celebrating the 20th anniversary
of the General Practice Airways Group (GPIAG). Founded in 1987 as a small
respiratory special-interest group of six general practitioners, the GPIAG
has developed and grown into the largest primary care specialist society in
the UK. It is also coming up to the first birthday of the journal – and we are
hoping that we are giving you a useful ‘goody bag’ of ‘party gifts’ to take
back to your practice after reading this issue.
Asthma is a chronic disease that has, for a long time, been the domain of primary care nurses, and many have qualifications enabling them to run nurse-led asthma clinics. It is, therefore, essential to fully understand the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) and to be able to maximise the points available to the practice, at the same time as providing a comprehensive service to patients. In this article, we review the QOF indicators for asthma, strategies for optimising record keeping and performing asthma reviews.
Asthma UK estimates that 2.1 million patients in the UK are suffering unnecessarily because
they do not use their asthma treatment effectively. This article looks at how inhaled
therapies are deposited in the lungs, and at the basic differences between inhalers – with
a focus on optimising inhaler technique.
The role of nurses working in the National Health Service has undergone major development
in recent years with new roles and expansion of skills into new areas which has included
respiratory care. However, as always, an increased role demands increased responsibility
and this article examines the key legislation affecting practice nurses, and how they can
reduce the risk of medico-legal action.
Hayfever, or seasonal allergic rhinitis, is a condition that patients often present with to their
pharmacist. However, unlike most minor ailments, hayfever is a persistent and recurrent
condition which can have a significant negative impact on quality of life.1 As such, the
correct diagnosis and product selection is essential. The variety of preparations available for the
treatment of hayfever, both over-the-counter (OTC) and on prescription, was discussed in detail in
an earlier edition of BJPCN.2 This article will focus on the options available to community
pharmacists for OTC treatment of hayfever.
Skills in developing a business case may at first seem to be something far removed from
what a nurse would need. After all we are clinicians, we do the clinical things and
managers do things like business cases. How wrong could you be? This article shows
just how important business planning can be to both nurses and our patients.
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