Warning over COPD misdiagnosis as spirometry declines and triple therapy rises
Less COPD cases are being diagnosed, and more are being incorrectly treated, according to a new report.
A 31% collapse in spirometry testing rates and ballooning scripts for triple therapy suggest COPD cases are being missed and patients incorrectly treated, experts say.
Spirometry tests under Medicare have fallen from 4114 per 100,000 people aged 35 and older to 2848 in seven years, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care says.
