Aerosol Device Book Delivers Important Information for Respiratory Therapists

May 1, 2007

Just in time for May’s Allergy and Asthma Awareness month comes a premier tool for respiratory therapists to help them care for their asthma patients. This resource will keep you on the cutting edge of aerosol delivery devices and can earn you four free CRCE credits.

The booklet, authored by Dean Hess PhD RRT FAARC, Timothy Myers BS RRT-NPS, and Joe Rau PhD RRT FAARC, reviews the latest information on aerosol drug delivery, the devices used, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Easy-to-read tables provide nice reference tools for you so that the drugs, the devices, and the costs are handy and available.

Hess, one of the directors of a Respiratory Care Journal conference on MDIs and DPIs (published in September and October of 2005), said that an increasing variety and development of inhalers and medications is resulting in a confusing number of choices for the clinician and the patient. One of the take-home messages of that conference was that it was imperative for clinician to be knowledgeable in the use and education of inhaled medications. “Respiratory therapists are uniquely positioned to provide this service and there is evidence that respiratory therapists may do this better than others.”

In the foreword to the booklet, AARC Executive Director Sam Giordano states, “Because aerosol therapy is integral to our scope of practice, and because we are considered the experts in this area, we have a professional obligation to continue our learning in this area.” The well-known trio of Hess, Myers, and Rau, have done a great job in laying out this information.

The AARC undertook the effort not only to provide members with the latest information on medicinal aerosol devices, but to explore the issues and problems of matching medications to devices. “Respiratory therapists are the aerosol experts and this document will assure that they continue to have the knowledge and resources to fulfill that role,” said Giordano.

The project, supported with an educational grant from Respironics, has resulted in the publication of a booklet. That booklet will be supplied to attendees of various AARC conferences, but is available online for all members.

To participate in the CRCE activities, you will download the book from the website, then register for access to a test. Once you successfully complete the test you will be granted four hours of CRCE credit. “These credits automatically appear on your AARC-provided CRCE transcript,” said Tom Kallstrom, Chief Operating Officer of the AARC.

To get the book and register for the test, go to our Aerosol Delivery Device page. This and other online offerings available from the AARC are listed on our website under the Education button.