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Welcome to Our Blog
Methapharm Respiratory is proud to work with healthcare practitioners to support the right diagnosis for patients exhibiting common respiratory symptoms such as cough, wheeze, and shortness of breath. We are a trusted partner for bronchoprovocation testing, supplying Provocholine and Aridol. We also offer training and education (CRCE) at no cost.
This blog is intended to be an additional resource to the education Methapharm currently offers through the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists (CSRT) approved CRCEs. While this blog will not provide education credits, it will explore current issues and interesting topics relevant to readers’ day-to-day work and personal lives. We hope that you will investigate further any of the topics we cover here. Please join us monthly as we share respiratory-related topics and beyond.
Reflections from 2024
November is the ideal month to highlight and center our focus on what we are grateful for in our lives. Gratitude is the “state of being grateful: thankfulness.” Research on gratitude supports that expressing and feeling grateful is healing and increases happiness....
COPD & Emphysema
Emphysema is a chronic progressive disease of the airways, specifically the alveoli. Emphysema is the destruction and enlargement of the alveoli. The alveoli are the air sacks located at the ends of the bronchioles (alveolus is the singular or one air sac). The number...
Exercise and Lung Health
I received a video of my grandnephew taking his first steps this week, a significant milestone considering he was one month premature. As he transitions to a toddler, still finding his balance, it is a reminder that our muscles, like his, need regular conditioning as...
Asthma Peak Week
Summer is rapidly coming to a close. Children, and parents, are preparing to return to school. There is the excitement of shoe shopping, buying supplies, learning who their teacher will be, getting their class schedule and new books. As school resumes and the...
Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) in Clinical Practice
Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing has emerged as a valuable tool in both the diagnosis and management of asthma. It is a non-invasive, quick, and easy test that measures the concentration of nitric oxide in exhaled breath. This helps provide insights...
Test Before Diagnosing
262 million people world-wide have asthma. Twenty-five million Americans have asthma. Ten people die each day in the United States from an asthma exacerbation. It is a heterogenous disease that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. There are objective tests...
May is National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month
In May, we observe National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month. Since 1984, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has designated May for raising awareness about these conditions. It’s a peak season for people with asthma and allergies, making it an ideal...
Embracing Change: A Look into the 2024 GOLD Guidelines for COPD
Gina Hoots, MSEd, RRT-ACCS, RPFT, CCSH, AE-C, CHC In pulmonary medicine, keeping up with the latest advancements and evidence is crucial for providing optimal care to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Global Initiative for Chronic...
A Cause for Camp
Julie (Beth) Carney, MS, BSRT, RRT, AE-C For many of us, especially in my generation, our fond memories of youth include camping with family, church, or the experience immortalized in many movies: summer camp. Those of us who participated in these camps remember the...
Advanced Education for RTs – Big Step, Bigger Rewards
Nathan Pounds, BS, RRT, AE-C As respiratory therapists we provide direct patient care, patient education, and care coordination in various in-patient and out-patient settings. This includes acute care facilities, long-term and sub-acute care facilities, skilled...
Chronic Cough – What Does It Mean?
Why do we cough? Cough is a defense mechanism to clear irritants from our lungs. The process begins with a trigger like cold air, smoke, or aspirated food/liquid that then causes the body to respond by closing the glottis, thereby increasing intrathoracic pressure....
Empowering Patients – Giving Them the ‘Why’
Julie “Beth” Carney, MS, RRT, AE-C In 2013, Medicare began penalizing hospitals for readmissions within 30-days following discharge after implementing the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP). By linking reimbursement to the quality-of-care patients receive,...
Being Grateful: Reflecting on 2022
As 2022 wraps up and we enter the holiday season, it is natural to reflect on the events of the year. This is a terrific opportunity to share why we are grateful. We decided we would check in with our inaugural Blog contributors and a few other special peers in the...
The Power of Self-Care in Managing Bronchiectasis
Linda Esposito, MPH I am a wellness coach and have been fortunate to live most of my life with few health issues. However, in 2016, I came back from a vacation with a cold and a lingering cough. For almost a year, my doctor and I thought my chronic cough was due to...
Higher Education for RTs: What’s All the Fuss?
Mike Hess, MPH, RRT, RPFT
In 2015, AARC established a goal that 80% of respiratory therapists would have at least a bachelor’s degree by 2020. It was certainly a lofty goal and based on the 2020 AARC Human Resource Survey of Respiratory Therapists, it appears we as a profession have come up a little short. Still, AARC remains committed to elevating the education level of respiratory therapists, and CoARC has established that a baccalaureate degree be the goal of any newly established RT education program.
Find your ‘Why’ as an RT
Ralph Stumbo Jr RRT CPFT
We all have a story about how we ended up in Respiratory Therapy. Some of them are pretty straight forward: from high school to college to your first job. Others, like myself, sort of “backed into it”.
Providers Guide to Oxygen Delivery Devices
Sheila Mackie, RRT
Prescribing long-term oxygen therapy for your patient can be complex given the reimbursement structure, government regulations, and the variety of device options. In this blog, we will discuss the various options for patients requiring oxygen and address how to match these devices to your patient’s needs.
Career Transitions – From Clinic to Industry
Holy Wilson, RPFT
When I was asked if I would like to write for this blog I had just moved from the U.S. to southern Portugal. It was the perfect time to put my journey into words of how I transitioned from working as a Pulmonary Function Technologist in hospitals to working remotely on the industry side of respiratory diagnostics from my home in Portugal. This is my story.
Asthma is (not) just asthma
Isn’t it just asthma? Actually, no. Over the years, the definition of asthma has changed. Rather than a catch-all diagnosis for bronchoconstriction, airway inflammation, wheezing, cough and mucus production, asthma is recognized as an umbrella term with multiple presentations of the physical symptoms we know as asthma.
Recent Posts
Reflections from 2024
November is the ideal month to highlight and center our focus on what we are grateful for in our lives. Gratitude is the “state of being grateful: thankfulness.” Research on gratitude supports that expressing and feeling grateful is healing and increases happiness....
COPD & Emphysema
Emphysema is a chronic progressive disease of the airways, specifically the alveoli. Emphysema is the destruction and enlargement of the alveoli. The alveoli are the air sacks located at the ends of the bronchioles (alveolus is the singular or one air sac). The number...
Exercise and Lung Health
I received a video of my grandnephew taking his first steps this week, a significant milestone considering he was one month premature. As he transitions to a toddler, still finding his balance, it is a reminder that our muscles, like his, need regular conditioning as...