Why Quality Assured Spirometry Matters in Primary Care.
Accurate diagnosis is the foundation of safe respiratory care.
Spirometry performed without robust quality assurance risks misdiagnosis, inappropriate prescribing and delayed recognition of significant disease.
Asthma, COPD and other causes of breathlessness can present with overlapping symptoms.
Without technically acceptable and reproducible spirometry — interpreted correctly using predicted values and lower limits of normal — clinicians cannot confidently confirm or exclude airflow obstruction.
In primary care, poor-quality spirometry can lead to:
Overdiagnosis of COPD in older adults.
Missed asthma in younger patients.
Inappropriate long-term inhaler therapy.
Failure to identify restrictive patterns requiring further investigation.
Quality-assured spirometry ensures:
Correct test performance and reproducibility.
Accurate interpretation using current international standards.
Safer prescribing decisions.
Appropriate referral when needed.
Greater confidence in long-term disease management.
