In this Issue January 2004

Australian Asthma Conference 2004

Conference Diary 2004

2004 Special Edition

Welcome to the first edition of the National Asthma Council Newsletter for 2004. We look forward to keeping you in touch with issues and comment on respiratory matters over the coming year.

The focus for this special edition is the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) 2nd World Conference and the Asthma Australia Conference 2004 both being held next month in Melbourne, Australia.

IPCRG 2nd World Conference

The IPCRG is a network of primary care/GP groups worldwide that was established in 2000 in the UK and now includes 23 member nations. The inaugural conference took place in Amsterdam in 2002. The IPCRG 2nd World Conference being held at the Sofitel, Melbourne from 19-22 February, is designed to provide up-to-date, best-practice information on the latest in respiratory care for GPs and other health professionals working in general practice and allied primary care settings. The program covers asthma, COPD, allergy and rhinitis, lung cancer, TB and other respiratory infections in a friendly and collegial setting.

A mixture of keynote plenaries, interactive workshop sessions and practical skills sessions will be offered over the 3 days of the conference with presenters including mainly GPs, with some respiratory physicians, allergists and other specialists, nurses and pharmacists. The presenters are drawn from the IPCRG member bodies around the world, including conference co-hosts, Australia and NZ.

Oral and poster presentations of general practice /primary care respiratory research also form part of the program.

Registration data shows strong interest in all sessions, with some program areas attracting a little more attention including:

Spirometry Workshops
COPD
Allergy
Paediatric Asthma
New Medications
IT in Primary Care
Cough & Breathlessness

Australian and International Perspective

Respiratory conditions, including asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), are common in Australia, as they are worldwide, and place significant burden on individuals, communities and countries.

Managing respiratory illness is a core activity in general practice. Time pressures have meant that GP care has tended to be reactive so that only the immediate problem is dealt with for each patient seen. There is certainly an opportunity for more of a planned review process or education.

Programs such as the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan - developed by the NAC’s GPs’ Asthma Group and subsequently taken up by the Federal Government as the GP Asthma Initiative in 2001 - aim to shift GP thinking and behaviour into a more structured management process.

Since late 2001 and by June 2003 over 55,000 Asthma 3+ Visit Plans had been completed and claimed (MBS, 2003)

The peer-led IPCRG conference provides an excellent forum for sharing international information and a forum for learning from peers attuned to specific GP needs allowing attendees to

Integrate the latest international literature and ideology on best-practice respiratory care into their own practice, adapting these to the specific nature of their own GP/primary care settings.
Incorporate the most recent ideas around best practice into their own methods of care.
Understand and incorporate the most recent guidelines on respiratory care into their primary care setting.
Be updated with new evidence re practice based interventions and new pharmacological therapies

There is a wide range in the practice of respiratory care internationally, often dependent on funding and practitioner training and numbers. Many members of the IPCRG have joined the group in order to learn about international best practice and access a network in countries that can assist them with knowledge, proven strategies and collegial support.

There can be great disparities in respiratory care and treatment options between nations, and the availability of prescribed medication is also an issue and may severely limit treatment options, especially in less developed countries (GINA Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention, NHLBI/WHO Workshop Report, 1995). Limited access to specialist care or advice may also impinge on GP treatment and patient care.

Launch for IPAG Guidelines

An important event is the launch of the new International Primary Care Airways Group (IPAG) guidelines on respiratory disease, making the GINA, GOLD and ARIA guidelines appropriate for, and available to GPs.

Apart from asthma, the other area of priority in this conference is the increasing interest in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in primary care. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimates that there are over 300,000 Australians with COPD with a further 250,000 undiagnosed. Recent audit work by the Australian Lung Foundation in general practice has identified that one-in-four smokers and ex-smokers had COPD which had never been tested for or identified (The Australian Lung Foundation, The Lung Health Survey, November 2003). There is significant potential for general practice and primary care to make a real difference to this preventable disease.

Conference Presentations

As much as possible, the conference presentations will be in workshop settings where delegates will have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the presenter and their colleagues. The atmosphere of the conference is designed to be friendly and inclusive, with plenty of opportunities for social interaction and informal questions.

All indications are that the success of the inaugural world conference, held in Amsterdam in June 2002 with 400 delegates, can be matched in Melbourne at the second IPCRG Conference.

For more information and full program go to
IPCRG Melbourne 2004
(http://www.ipcrg-melbourne.org/default.htm)

Australian Asthma Conference 2004

Following on directly from the IPCRG Conference is the Australian Asthma Conference 2004.

Vacancies are still available to attend the Conference to be held at the Sofitel Melbourne from Monday 23rd February to Wednesday 25th February.

The program has certainly captured the interest of those already registered with strong support across the range of topics offered. Particular interest has been shown in

Asthma and Obesity
New Asthma Drugs
Standards for Asthma Education
Current Controversies
Environmental Interventions
Nurse-Practitioner Roles
Dealing with asthma emergency
Asthma devices and techniques
Asthma and COPD
Behavioural Aspects (CRC)

If you have not yet registered and would like to attend, visit the conference website to download a registration form.

The conference website has recently been updated with the program and details of the Conference Celebration Dinner which is to be held at Parliament House, Melbourne.

For further details, visit the conference website at

Australian Asthma Conference 2004
(http://www.asthma.org.au/conference2004)

Conference Diary 2003/4

Submit brief conference/meeting details to the National Asthma Council for possible posting in our Conference Diary by email to nac@NationalAsthma.org.au.

IPCRG 2nd World Conference Respiratory Disease in Primary Care 'The Way Forward' 19 - 22 February 2004 Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne, Australia IPCRG Melbourne 2004
The 2004 Australian Asthma Conference ‘A Fresh Breath – looking to the future’ 22 - 25 February 2004 Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne, Australia. Australian Asthma Conference 2004
The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand 2004 Annual Scientific Meeting Sydney Convention Centre 19-24 March 2004 TSANZ Annual Scientific Meeting Sydney
Australian & New Zealand Society of Respiratory Science 2004 Annual Scientific Meeting Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour 19 - 21 March 2004 ANZSRS Annual Scientific Meeting Sydney
International Pediatric Respiratory, Allergy and Immunology Congress. Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre 10-13 July 2004. IPRAIC Hong Kong

Created January 28, 2004. Updated January 29, 2008