Keeping primary care physicians in the know

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The health care community is increasing awareness among primary care doctors about the importance of biologic drugs to treat asthma. Despite the existence of these drugs, two in five primary care physicians are unaware of this treatment. And about 82% don’t order labs needed to prescribe biologic drug treatment.

The results are part of a survey presented at the 2023 American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California. Additionally, the survey reported that primary care physicians tend to wait until a patient has two or more asthma attacks before referring them to an allergist. In most cases, the doctors are unaware of the criteria for prescribing the drugs.

Researchers surveyed 85 primary care physicians via e-mail, including internists, family medicine specialists and pediatricians. They also found that 90% of those surveyed do not test for absolute eosinophil count. Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell that are active in allergic conditions.

In a press release from the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida in Tampa, senior researcher Juan Carlos Cardet, MD, an associate professor of allergy and immunology, said the survey results point to the need to “improve the communication between primary care physicians and asthma care specialists, including regarding use of biologics.”

“Biologics have become an important tool in the treatment of asthma and other allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis [eczema], chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and eosinophilic esophagitis, and can prevent substantial ill results from occurring in patients who are eligible for them,” Dr. Cardet said in the press release.

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