Adherence to long-term controller medications was suboptimal among patients with asthma. Adherent patients had fewer OCS claims, indicating that adherence to controller therapy is critical in preventing asthma exacerbations requiring OCS use. Although there was a positive relationship between adherence to long-term controller medication and SABA use, increased SABA use served as a predictor of increased OCS use, which indicates poor asthma control. Health care providers should be aware of OCS and SABA use among patients who are both adherent and nonadherent to asthma controller medications.

Objective. To determine the extent of pharmacoeconomics education in US colleges and schools of pharmacy provided to doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students in 2011.Methods. E-mails requesting syllabi and information about courses covering pharmacoeconomic topics were sent to all US colleges and schools of pharmacy from which PharmD students had graduated in 2011 (n5103). Results. Of 87 responding pharmacy colleges and schools, 85 provided pharmacoeconomics education in 2011. The number of hours dedicated to pharmacoeconomic-related topics varied from 2 to 60 per year (mean520). Conclusions. Pharmacoeconomics education is provided at almost all US colleges and schools of pharmacy; however, variation in the number of teaching hours and topics covered demonstrates a lack of standardization in the PharmD curriculum. Pharmacy administrators and educators should invest more resources and tools to standardize training in this area.

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Objectives To develop tools for identifying and addressing medication adherence barriers so that they are asthma‐specific, to assess pharmacists’ perspectives on the use of the tools and their implementation in the community pharmacy practice. Methods Development of asthma adherence tools involved analysis of available tools that focused on identifying and resolving asthma‐specific barriers to adherence, followed by selection and modification of tools. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with practicing community pharmacists on pharmacists’ experiences in addressing adherence for patients with asthma, barriers, special concerns and perceptions regarding the proposed tools and their implementation in practice. Audio‐recorded interviews were transcribed. Thematic analysis was conducted to describe pharmacists’ feedback. Key findings Three asthma‐specific tools, which were adapted from the Adherence Starts with Knowledge‐12 adherence tool and the Drug Adherence Work‐up tool, were utilized in this study, including: (1) a patient questionnaire to identify asthma medication adherence barriers, (2) a pharmacist ‘Conversation Starter’ document to efficiently facilitate identification and resolution of barrier(s), and (3) a patient pamphlet entitled ‘Breathe Easier’ to address and educate patients regarding identified barrier(s). Pharmacists’ (N = 5) overall perspectives on the approach and proposed tools were positive. All pharmacists acknowledged high patient need for asthma education and adherence support. Most of the interviewees agreed that common adherence barriers were addressed in the tools and that the main barrier regarding program implementation was time. Providing focused counselling by utilizing tools that identify specific patient issues and offer possible solutions may help overcome the time barrier. Conclusions The proposed tools can enhance patient–pharmacist communication and have the potential to improve adherence and overall asthma management, which can lead to a decreased asthma burden.

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