Recent survey points to the need for better education for COPD patients on how to use inhalers.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a respiratory disorder that affects millions of patients and leads to substantial morbidity, mortality, disability, impaired quality of life, and increased health care costs. As the COPD Outcomes-based Network for Clinical Effectiveness & Research Translation (CONCERT) explains:

“Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a respiratory disorder that affects about 300 million patients worldwide and 30 million patients in the US alone.  COPD carries a substantial burden in human suffering. Dyspnea and other respiratory symptoms are common and can be disabling. Respiratory infections and exposure to environmental triggers lead to episodic deteriorations (acute exacerbations of COPD; AE-COPD) and result in over 700,000 hospitalizations and 100,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone. 

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