COPD and asthma – an update for primary care providers

This session will provide an update on COPD and asthma management, aiming to unravel some of the confusion in current inhaled therapies. It will explore the role of primary to care to improve patient outcomes.

Through interactive case studies, participants will learn to apply best practice management guidelines for asthma and COPD, using current evidence and international recommendations to guide treatment decisions. They will gain skills to identify patients who may benefit from specialist referral for advanced therapies such as biologic treatments for severe asthma or escalated interventions for COPD. The session will explore the significant burden of cardiovascular disease in COPD patients, and highlight the vital role of primary care in conducting cardiovascular risk assessment and implementing effective management strategies. Additionally, participants will learn how to assess disease control and recognise patients at risk of deterioration, enabling earlier intervention and improved patient outcomes.

Speaker:

A/Prof Anne Marie Southcott, is a respiratory and sleep physician who took up her position as Head of Unit, Respiratory and Sleep Disorders Medicine at Western Health in November 2009. Western Health provides respiratory and sleep medicine clinical services at several places, including Footscray and Sunshine Hospitals and Melton Health. Dr Southcott has a strong clinical interest in the broad range of respiratory illnesses and sleep disorders, and in standards for pulmonary function and sleep laboratories. She has been involved in many clinical trials of asthma and COPD medications, is currently a member of the TSANZ Laboratory Accreditation and Quality committee, the NATA/ASA Sleep Accreditation Advisory Committee and Statewide Equipment Program Domiciliary Oxygen Program Clinical Advisory panel. She is also on the National Examining Panel for the RACP Adult Medicine specialist physician training program.

Learning outcomes:

1. Describe best practice management guidelines for asthma.
2. Describe best practice management guidelines for COPD.
3. Identify patients who would benefit from specialist assessment for advanced therapies for asthma.
4. Identify patients who would benefit from specialist assessment for advanced therapies for COPD.
5. Describe the burden of cardiovascular disease in COPD patients and the importance that primary care plays in providing cardiovascular disease risk assessment and management in COPD patients. 
6. Explain disease control and identify patients at risk for future deterioration.