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SINGAPORE: Prices for asthma medication have decreased by 30 per cent.
Global medicine company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) hopes the reduction will help patients handle their condition on a more regular basis.
Doctors say asthma patients do not take their medication regularly as prescribed, taking it only in the event of an attack.
"Asthma patients should have their condition well controlled with the right assessment and regular treatment.
"But because of the lack of awareness, patients in Singapore are generally under-treating and underestimating the severity of their condition," said Dr Jagadesan Raghuram, head and senior consultant of respiratory medicine, Changi General Hospital.
This has resulted in the clogging of local hospitals for emergency care and admission.
Local data shows that 41 per cent of asthma-related admissions in Singapore could be easily avoided - if patients took regular medication.
GSK says the price reduction is aligned with the goal for this year's World Asthma Day - which is to cut emergency admissions and hospitalisation by 50 per cent in five years.
- CNA/jy
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