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  • Title: Knowledge and use of office spirometry for the detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by primary care physicians.
    Author: Kaminsky DA, Marcy TW, Bachand M, Irvin CG.
    Journal: Respir Care; 2005 Dec; 50(12):1639-48. PubMed ID: 16318645.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: The importance of office spirometry has been strongly advocated in the pulmonary community, but whether its importance is recognized and accepted by primary care physicians is less well established. METHODS: To assess primary care physicians' knowledge and use of office spirometry for the detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, we conducted a brief mail survey on the local practice of office spirometry, barriers to performing office spirometry, and general knowledge about spirometry. We also provided 60-min educational workshops to assess whether such an approach would increase spirometry testing or perceptions about spirometry. RESULTS: Twenty-nine of 57 (51%) primary care offices responded to the survey. Of these, 66% owned their own spirometer. The most common reasons for not performing spirometry were uncertainty about the impact of the test (41%), physician and staff unfamiliarity (38%), and lack of training (34%). Twenty-one respondents participated in the workshops. In the 3 months following the workshops, the number of spirometry tests increased by 59% (p = 0.004). After the workshops, the proportion of clinics that reported reasons for not performing the test decreased by 13% (p = 0.01), but important barriers to performing office spirometry were still present, including physician and staff unfamiliarity (22%), uncertain interpretation of results (22%), time (22%), and reimbursement (22%). CONCLUSIONS: The general knowledge and use of office spirometry in the primary care community is poor, but can be improved, at least in the short-term, by a simple educational workshop.
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