Primary Care Respiratory Journal

Volume 18 Issue 3 September 2009

Standards Document

Diagnostic Spirometry in Primary Care: Proposed standards for general practice compliant with American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society recommendations
A General Practice Airways Group (GPIAG)¹ document, in association with the Association for Respiratory Technology & Physiology (ARTP)² and Education for Health³
¹ www.gpiag.org ² www.artp.org ³ www.educationforhealth.org.uk

Pages 130-147
^*Mark L Levy^a, Philip H Quanjer^b, Rachel Booker^c#, Brendan G Cooper^d†, Steve Holmes^e‡, Iain Small^f‡

^aSenior Clinical Research Fellow, Allergy & Respiratory Research Group, Division of Community Health Sciences:GP section, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; Editor-in-Chief Primary Care Respiratory Journal

^bProfessor Emeritus of Physiology, Department of Pulmonary Diseases and Sophia Children’s Hospital, Erasmus Medical Centre, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

^c#Independent specialist respiratory nurse and freelance medical writer; #For and on behalf of: Education for Health, The Athenaeum, 10 Church St, Warwick, UK

^d†Consultant Clinical Scientist; †For and on behalf of: ARTP, Suite 4, Sovereign House, Gate Lane, Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield, UK

^e‡General Practitioner, Cannards Grave Road, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, UK; Associate Dean (GP Medical Education) Severn Deanery, Bristol, UK; GPIAG Education Lead; ‡For and on behalf of: GPIAG, Smithy House, Waterbeck, Lockerbie, Scotland, UK

^f‡General Practitioner, Peterhead Health Centre, Links Terrace, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK; Honorary Lecturer, Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK; Chair of the GPIAG Executive Committee; ‡For and on behalf of: GPIAG

Received 12 July 2009 • Accepted 19 July 2009 • Online 14 August 2009

Abstract
Primary care spirometry services can be provided by trained primary care staff, peripatetic specialist services, or through referral to hospital-based or laboratory spirometry. The first of these options is the focus of this Standards Document. It aims to provide detailed information for clinicians, managers and healthcare commissioners on the key areas of quality required for diagnostic spirometry in primary care – including training requirements and quality assurance. These proposals and recommendations are designed to raise the standard of spirometry and respiratory diagnosis in primary care and to provide the impetus for debate, improvement and maintenance of quality for diagnostic (rather than screening) spirometry performed in primary care. This document should therefore challenge current performance and should constitute an aspirational guide for delivery of this service.

Cite as: Levy ML, Quanjer PH, Booker R, Cooper BG, Holmes S, Small I. Diagnostic Spirometry in Primary Care: Proposed standards for general practice compliant with American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society recommendations. Prim Care Respir J 2009;18(3):130-147. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4104/pcrj.2009.00054

Keywords
Diagnostic spirometry, spirometry, COPD, diagnosis, guideline, standards, primary care, general practice

* Corresponding author. Dr Mark L Levy Email: marklevy@animalswild.com

	View full text as PDF document
	Right click on this DOI link and copy link/shortcut to cite this article (What is a DOI link?)
	Export to bibliographic software or plain text
	Post to CiteULike
	Email this article to friend/s or colleague/s
	Cited by