Who are respiratory therapists and why are they needed in Armenia?

September 10, 2019  19:34

A respiratory therapist is a person who deals with diseases and problems affecting the respiratory system. As a respiratory therapist from California told NEWS.am Medicine, respiratory therapy in the US is a separate discipline, and the work of its representatives in a multidisciplinary team helps to increase the effectiveness of treatment and reduce the patient’s hospital stay.

At UCLA Medical Center, Hratch Kayichian works with small patients in neonatal intensive care units. Most babies (usually premature) are in these departments with respiratory problems. These problems do not pass by many pregnant women who are faced with complications. Therefore, it is so important that there is a person in the clinic who specializes specifically in these problems.

According to the expert, the work of a respiratory therapist includes everything related to the human respiratory system - from oxygen and helium therapy to the use of bronchodilators and other drugs. As medicine is constantly being developed and more and more new devices and technologies are being introduced, there is a need of specialists who will devote full-time to this field, who will be best versed in the equipment available in the hospital and know how and when it should be used to achieve the best results.

When you have people who specialize in one of the main reasons for admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, it helps to improve treatment outcomes, minimize patient stay in the hospital - patients recover faster and go home, he said.

A respiratory therapist also plays an important role in transporting patients from one hospital to another in critical situations: it ensures maximum transport safety by controlling the patient’s breathing and the operation of devices necessary for his breathing.

According to Hratch Kayichian, the introduction of respiratory therapists in hospitals in the US has changed a lot for the better, increasing the level of treatment safety and its effectiveness. According to the expert, the hospitals in Armenia also need people who will focus on the problems of the respiratory system and who will be able to use the equipment necessary to maintain breathing as correctly and efficiently as possible. Such specialists will help to better organize patient care both in a hospital and during emergency transportation from one hospital to another, and they will surely save many lives, the expert is sure.

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