News	Features	Media Releases
June Newsletter Including NAC activity, asthma in the news and information added to the web site. Balancing the Benefits: Asthma and Combination Therapy Update Tuesday May 20, 2008 - NAC program with the Rural Health Education Foundation. LTRAs: therapeutic role in children with asthma Information Paper A-Team™ Asthma Education Workshops across Australia for GPs, practice nurses, asthma educators and other health professionals.	Asthma Management Tools Shortcuts to useful tools for GPs and Health Professionals. Exploring links between asthma and allergic rhinitis, March 2007 Available to view online and download as Podcast. Patient-Centred Health Care Discussion paper and Report of Proceedings Special Topics (Asthma Facts) Information sheets and facts. Statistics Student Resources	“You Can Control your Asthma” World Asthma Day register World Asthma Day is May 6, 2008 Got asthma? You need a plan! Popular spirometry handbook updated Spirometry: The Measurement and Interpretation of Ventilatory Function in Clinical Practice – has been revised and is now available Asthma Deaths Spike New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the Australian asthma death toll jumped in 2006, with an additional 84 deaths being recorded compared to 2005 data. Autumn Mite Trigger Asthma As the leaves fall, the dust mite population in your bedroom could well be on the rise. New Asthma Resources for Indigenous Australians A new asthma action plan specifically for Indigenous Australians. Spirometry Training for General Practice Australia’s first national spirometry training course for GPs and practice nurses.

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Patient-Centred Healthcare

The International Alliance of Patients' Organizations (IAPO) held a meeting on Patient-Centred Healthcare at the UN, New York on 30 March, 2007.

See http://www.patientsorganizations.org/pchmeeting

 For more on patient-centred healthcare go to Patient-Centred Health Care.

IAPO Global Patients Congress

IAPO will hold the 3rd Global Patients Congress in February 2008 in Budapest, Hungary. The overarching theme of this event will be IAPO’s vision of patient-centred healthcare worldwide with a special focus on ensuring patient involvement in all levels of decision-making in order to align healthcare systems with patients’ needs. Access to health, patient information and patient safety will also be central to the programme.

See http://www.patientsorganizations.org/index.pl

Asthma Score Welcomed

Australia’s peak asthma body, the National Asthma Council Australia, has welcomed the launch of the Asthma Score – a new easy to use assessment tool designed to help people with asthma determine their true level of asthma control.

The Asthma Score is a quick five question quiz that takes about two minutes to complete. It asks people with asthma to reflect on their personal health over the past four weeks, with questions ranging from how their asthma has impacted on their work, school or home life to how often they have required their reliever medication.

A score is given for each answer and the cumulative total indicates the level of asthma control, with a score of one being poorly controlled and a score of 25 being completely controlled.

The Asthma Score is a simple tool that can be used by people with asthma to get the full picture about their condition and help them review their current asthma action plan with their doctor.

The Asthma Score questionnaire is available from your GP or pharmacist or on-line at www.asthmascore.com.au

The National Asthma Council Australia supports evidence-based initiatives to increase asthma awareness, understanding and control in Australia.