COPD: spirometry testing rates fall

Between 2015–16 and 2022–23 there was a 31% reduction in spirometry testing rates, despite the test being the gold standard for confirming a COPD diagnosis, according to a new Australian Commission on Safety and Quality Health Care report. The Atlas Focus Report: COPD also found a 130% increase in the use of triple therapy (inhaled corticosteroid with a long-acting beta2 agonist and long-acting antimuscarinic agent) despite guidelines advising restricted use. Read more at: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/healthcare-variation/atlas-focus-report-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease.