November is National COPD Awareness Month, and Hillsborough-based Reckitt – the leading hygiene, health and nutrition company behind household brands Mucinex, Delsym, and Lysol – is launching a nationwide education program to help raise awareness of the importance of early diagnoses of COPD and the vital role primary care physicians can play.
In collaboration with two leading pulmonologists – Dr. Byron Thomashow, co-founder and chief medical officer of the COPD foundation; and Dr. Robert Sussman, a community pulmonologist and former medical director of the Atlantic Respiratory Institute Clinical Research Center in Summit – Reckitt is providing primary care physicians with an approach to help them identify patients at risk for chronic lung disorder.
“There are an alarming number of Americans with undiagnosed chronic lung conditions, including stable chronic bronchitis and emphysema – two common conditions that contribute to COPD; millions, in fact,” Sussman said. “If we can identify and diagnose these patients early on, they have the potential to benefit from management strategies that could lead to improvement in both short and long-term health outcomes.”
This program includes a toolkit with an overview of the rationale for screening, a video featuring Dr. Thomashow and Dr. Sussman, a five-question case finding tool and a flow chart to help identify and score at-risk patients.
“Our purpose at Reckitt is to protect, heal and nurture; and everything we do and make helps advance that purpose,” said Tina Terraciano, associate director, Medical Marketing at Reckitt. “It’s only natural for Reckitt to launch and support a program that not only aligns with our purpose, but also provides primary care physicians with the helpful tools to facilitate early diagnosis of COPD and help in the fight for better respiratory health in America.
