Doctors are snubbing spirometry for respiratory patients

TOO many patients with asthma or COPD are being put on steroids without objective lung function testing, a study suggests.

Drawing on data from the Sax Institute’s 45 and Up Study, researchers at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have demonstrated that more than 80% of patients being dispensed respiratory medication haven’t had spirometry in accordance with clinical guidelines.

They determined this by linking data from people in the study – about 267,000 adults older than 45 living