The Inhaler Technique Problem Hiding in Plain Sight

Up to 60% of patients with asthma or COPD use their inhaler incorrectly — and improper technique alone drives as much as 70% of the total cost of managing these conditions. Most of that cost isn't a medication problem. It's a technique and adherence problem hiding in plain sight, because nothing in standard care actually measures how an inhaler is being used.

Measuring what standard care can't see

The device deployed under Respiratory RPM/CCM tracks the specifics that actually determine whether medication reaches the lungs or gets deposited on the tongue and the roof of the mouth: date and time of use, shake duration, inhaler orientation, and inhalation technique. The program turns that data into personalized, correctable feedback for the enrolled patient — not a generic reminder — while missed doses or declining adherence are flagged for timely outreach.

The same device doubles as a spirometer, giving the physician objective lung function data alongside the technique score. That distinction matters: a patient's declining function might be the disease progressing, or it might be a technique problem that's fully correctable. Without the data, a physician is often guessing between the two.

“Patients get specific, correctable feedback. Physicians get the data to know whether it's a disease problem or a technique problem — before it becomes an emergency department visit.”