Translating Research into Health Policy: Stock Albuterol Legislation

To address this problem, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommend that comprehensive school-based asthma programs maintain stock inhalers so that multiple students may share a single inhaler via reusable and/or disposable holding chambers (6, 7). [...]we enlisted support from Thayer Medical Corporation, an Arizona-based company that manufactures disposable, valved holding chambers. Before the formal committee vote, a public hearing was held, where testimony was solicited in support of or opposition to the bill. Because Arizona requires speakers to preregister, it was important to designate a single individual (J.S.) to actively monitor the committee's agenda to ensure that our speakers were registered. Once the rule making was complete, we conducted outreach to inform schools, pharmacists, physicians, nurses, and others about the legislation and its requirements. Because the legislation did not provide funding, financial barriers remained an important obstacle.