Understanding the role of the healthcare professional in patient self-management of allergic rhinitis

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Abstract

Objective: Allergic rhinitis is a common, usually long-standing, condition that may be self-diagnosed or have a formal diagnosis. Our aim was to identify how allergic rhinitis sufferers self-manage their condition. Methods: A sample of 276 self-identified adult allergy sufferers pooled from social media completed an online survey comprising 13 questions. The survey was fielded by a professional research organization (Lab42). The main outcome measures included the use of prescription and/or non-prescription allergy medication, and interactions with physician and/ or pharmacist with respect to medication use. Results: Of the respondents, 53% (146/276) indicated that they used both prescription and over-the-counter medication to manage their allergy symptoms. Of those who used prescription medication, 53% reported that they discussed their prescription medication in great detail with their physician when it was prescribed, while 42% spoke about it briefly. Following the initial prescription, few discussions about the prescription occur with the physician (45% indicate several discussions, 40% indicate one or two discussions, and 10% indicate no discussions). In most cases (~75% of the time), allergy prescription refills did not require a doctor visit with patients obtaining refills through phone calls to the doctor’s office or through the pharmacy. Two-thirds of patients (69%) report that they have discussed their prescription allergy medication with a pharmacist, with greater than half of respondents having discussed the use of the non-prescription medication with their doctor. Conclusion: Patients with diagnosed allergic rhinitis appear to be self-managing their condition with few interactions with their doctor about their allergy prescription. Interactions with a pharmacist about allergy medication (prescription and nonprescription) appear to be more common than interactions with a physician.

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APA

Kuehl, B. L., Abdulnour, S., O’dell, M., & Kyle, T. K. (2015). Understanding the role of the healthcare professional in patient self-management of allergic rhinitis. SAGE Open Medicine, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050312115595822

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