Assessment and management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Australian general practice

Dispensing data suggest potential issues with the quality use of medicines for airways disease.

The objective of this article was to describe the management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in general practice, and investigate the appropriateness of prescribing.

The method used for this study consisted of a national cross‑sectional survey of 91 Australian general practitioners (GPs) participating in the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) program.

Data were available for 2589 patients (288 asthma; 135 COPD). For the patients with asthma, GPs classified asthma as well controlled in 76.4%; 54.3% were prescribed inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), mostly (84.9%) as combination therapy, and mostly at moderate-high dose; only 26.3% had a written action plan. GPs classified COPD as mild for 42.9%. Most patients with COPD (60.9%) were prescribed combination ICS therapy and 36.7% were prescribed triple therapy.

There were substantial differences between guideline-based and GP- recorded assessment and prescription for asthma and COPD. Further research is needed to improve care and optimise patient outcomes with scarce health resources.