• Alana Haussmann, Anita N Moudgal, Megan Calzia, and Laura P Hurley.
• From the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO (AM, MC, LH); Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, CO (LH); University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA (AH).
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2024 Mar 1; 37 (2): 321323321-323.

BackgroundPrimary care clinicians do not adhere to national and international guidelines recommending pulmonary function testing (PFTs) in patients with suspected asthma. Little is known about why that occurs. Our objective was to assess clinician focused barriers to ordering PFTs.MethodsAn internet-based 11-item survey of primary care clinicians at a large safety-net institution was conducted between August 2021 and November 2021. This survey assessed barriers and possible electronic health record (EHR) solutions to ordering PFTs. One of the survey questions contained an open-ended question about barriers which was analyzed qualitatively.ResultsThe survey response rate was 59% (117/200). The top 3 reported barriers included beliefs that testing will not change management, distance to testing site, and the physical effort it takes to complete testing. Clinicians were in favor of an EHR intervention to prompt them to order PFTs. Responses to the open-ended question also conveyed that objective testing does not change management.DiscussionPFTs improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce inappropriate therapies. Of the barriers we identified, the most modifiable is to educate clinicians about how PFTs can change management. That in conjunction with an EHR prompt, which clinicians approved of, may lead to guideline congruent and improved quality in asthma care.© Copyright 2024 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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