Table 6

The top three most important pros and cons for the two occupation groups with the largest samples—consultants and nurses (10=most important, 1=least important)

10s, 9s10s, 9s, 8s
Three most important pros  
Consultants (n=8)
Aiding discussions between the clinician and the patient, for example, visual evidence57
More informed decision-making for clinicians56
The patient's awareness of monitoring by their clinician may improve their compliance45
Nurses (n=6)
Better asthma control and improved quality of life45
Improve compliance35
Relating an accurate record of a patient's inhaler use to their health outcomes and asthma control33
Three most important cons
Consultants (n=8)
Evidence of the effectiveness of electronic monitoring devices is required44
Patient may not like being ‘watched’25
Could interfere with inhalation technique or not be compatible with spacer24
Nurses (n=6)
Whose responsibility is downloading, processing and interpreting the data and discussing with patients?45
An electronic monitoring device may be required for more than one inhaler per patient44
Accuracy and reliability of the device, as well as potential technical issues44