The value of “General Practitioners–Specialists” mode: A focus group study of patients with asthma in mastering inhalation skills

This study focused on using “General Practitioners–Specialists” (GP-S) mode to teach the patients with asthma to master inhalation skills. 200 patients with asthma being admitted to the respiratory department of Shanghai Changhai Hospital were included in the study from January to December in 2018. There were 100 cases in the control group and 100 cases in the experimental group. The control groups received routine instruction and the experimental group adopted GP-S mode education, respectively, to learn mastering dry powder inhaler skills. The level of mastery and errors in the use of inhaled medications were recorded after each guidance. After four times’ instruction in two different ways, the patient’s mastery of inhalation skills gradually improved. After the guidance through the GP-S mode, the incidence of inhalation errors after each times instruction was 67%, 28%, and 7%, respectively. The later one was significantly lower than the previous one (67% vs. 28%, χ 2 = 30.496, p < 0.001; 28% vs. 7%, χ 2 = 15.273, p < 0.001). After twice instructions, the GP-S mode was associated with the lower incidence of inhaler device operating errors versus the regular guidance method (10% vs. 26%, χ 2 = 8.672, p = 0.005); the same as the third guidance (2% vs. 11%, χ 2 = 6.664, p = 0.018). Similarly, after thrice instructions, the incidence of inhalation method errors in the GP-S mode group was significantly lower than the regular guidance mode group (4% vs. 15%, χ 2 = 7.037, p = 0.018), and there was still existing statistical difference of inhalation method errors between the two groups after four times instructions (3% vs. 11%, χ 2 = 4.916, p = 0.049). General Practitioners–Specialists mode can effectively improve the patient’s mastery of inhalation skills, which significantly reduced the incidence of errors in the use of inhaled drugs and improved the overall management effectivity of asthma and patients’ compliance.