ER only asthma treatment for many Americans That's what doctors declared at a conference of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology yesterday.
The nation's emergency rooms, shrinking in number, are dealing with a suffocating epidemic of asthma cases, and without more training, ER staffs won't stem the flow of patients with the breathing disorder, experts said yesterday.
Emergency rooms ``are becoming the only source of care for millions of Americans'' with asthma, allergic reactions and other respiratory problems, said Dr. Marvin Wayne, an emergency room doctor and one of hundreds of clinicians and researchers in Boston this weekend for the 62nd meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
Of course another problem is the cost of preventative medicine. I feel fortunate to have insurance coverage of my prescriptions, but they are covering less and less, so my inhaled steroids now cost about $30 a month, up from $10 a month last year. That's still cheaper than the $100 I'd be paying without insurance, but the point is, it costs a lot.
Which brings us to the next observation: Doctors should be teaching patients non-pharmacuetical maintenance techniques, like breathing exercises, that don't cost patients anything to reduce trips to the Emergency Room.
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