Meter Dose Inhaler and Spacer in Asthmatic Patients - Essay Example

A meter dose inhaler is more efficient but is not widely used because it is believed to be more expensive than a nebulizer.

The examination involved asthmatic children who were presented to the emergency department for medication. The age under consideration was between two to eighteen years of age. Those included were the ones who had a gentle or temperate illness. The participants were taken from “British Columbia Children’s Hospital and Alberta Children’s Hospital” emergency departments. Research has established that the use of a metered-dose inhaler is more advanced and less costly compared to the wet nebulizer. The application of this method also reduces the possibility of one patient transmitting the disease to others. This is because each patient can make utilize his or her own apparatus. The evidence has shown that in Canada, only twenty percent of the children in the emergency department applied this method. The limiting factor of the use of this method is its associated high expenditure.

When the expenditure and the benefit accruing from both methods were evaluated, the result showed that using a meter dose inhaler and spacer is more efficient and cost-saving compared to the wet nebulizer. This study did not take into consideration the long-term effect of either of the two methods. The use of a Meter dose inhaler and spacer improves the quality of drugs administered to the patients because only one patient is served with each gadget. Also, this method reduces the overall cost of curing asthmatic patients because it shortens the period of admission to the hospital. Patients get well faster than expected and consequently, the expenditure goes down. This saves the family members of the patient stress of going to visit him or her at the hospital.

The healthcare providers should make use of a meter dose inhaler and spacer to administer drugs to asthmatic patients. This method will improve efficiency because each patient will be using his or her own apparatus. This will reduce the chance of one patient transmitting the disease to others. Also, it will increase the rate of recovery by the asthmatic patients hence reducing their period of stay in the hospital. In addition, the overall cost of patients will drop magnificently. The healthcare providers will have an easy moment of training the patients on how to use it.

The use of this analysis was considered for a very short duration of time. This was basically done within two days after admission of the patient into the hospital and especially in the emergency department. This also reduced drastically the period of hospitalization among asthmatic children. The cost of equipment and procedure for administering drugs makes the process a bit expensive. On the other hand, this method reduces the cost of patients’ stay in the hospital. This is because the patient period of stay in the hospital declines when drugs are administered using a meter dose inhaler and spacer as compared to the use of a nebulizer. There is an estimated overall cost reduction of expenditure by 154.95 Canadian dollars for every patient treated using a meter dose inhaler.