Patient Adherence is the Goal
of New Booklet from AARC

March 31, 2009

Helping patients adhere to their treatment regimens is the goal of a new AARC membership benefit. Arriving now in your mailboxes is “Symptom Control in Patients with Chronic Respiratory Disease.”

RTs can take the lead and make a difference in patient lives by helping them comply with their medication prescriptions. Check out the booklet which will:

• Help you understand the impact of non-adherence with respiratory controller medications.
• Explain why patients stop taking their controller medications.
• Offer tricks of the trade for promoting sustained adherence.
• Show how to engage patients through a collaborative care model.

The information originated from a special symposium held at the AARC’s 54th International Respiratory Congress in Anaheim last December. The symposium presentation, as well as the production and mailing of the booklet, were enabled by an unrestricted educational grant from Sepracor to the AARC.

This web-based continuing education course is approved for 4.0 contact hours of continuing education credit (CRCE)—free of charge to all AARC members who take the online test—and is a unique way for you to stay ahead of the curve in today’s challenging health care environment.

“The respiratory therapist continues to serve as a physician extender through instructing patients about their respiratory medications,” says AARC President Timothy R. Myers, BS, RRT-NPS. “We hope this booklet provides our members additional tools to help their patients reach better compliance and adherence.”