Asthma affects millions of people across the world. In the UK, a large proportion of the population use inhalers. This simple delivery system targets the drug directly to the lungs with the aim of maximising benefit.

Yet still many patients use their individual devices incorrectly. Most pharmacists have funny stories about how a patient has used their inhaler incorrectly.

If these devices were used correctly, the patient’s asthma control would improve dramatically. Explaining the correct way to use an inhaler is certainly not a labour intensive task. Most nurses will check a patient’s technique during routine asthma checks and clinics. In most cases, a simple reminder is all that is needed from a pharmacist to prevent bad habits from developing.

Medicines Use Reviews provide a vehicle on which this information can be conveyed to patients. It takes no more than a few minutes to first observe, and then if need be, improve the patient’s technique. In this way, the MUR will lead to a direct improvement in the patient’s health, and make the whole process worthwhile. The whole process could even become part of a multi-disciplinary initiative where peak flow readings could be taken as well as ensuring that patients who have poor coordination can be switched to breath actuated devices. In that way, we may be able to reinforce how worthwhile the MUR process can be to GP’s.