npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine (Oct 2023)

Clinical inertia in asthma

  • Yosuke Fukuda,
  • Tetsuya Homma,
  • Hironori Sagara

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41533-023-00356-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 33, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Abstract Despite advances in pharmaceutical treatment in recent years, a relatively high proportion of patients with asthma do not have adequate asthma control, causing chronic disability, poor quality of life, and multiple emergency department visits and hospitalizations. A multifaceted approach is needed to overcome the problems with managing asthma, and clinical inertia (CI) is a crucial concept to assist with this approach. It divides clinical inertia into three main categories, which include healthcare provider-related, patient-related, and healthcare system-related CI. The strategies to overcome these CI are complex, and the M-GAP approach, which combines a multidisciplinary approach, dissemination of guidelines, utilization of applications, and development and promotion of low-cost prescriptions, will help clinicians.