In this Issue February 2004

Special 2nd Edition

IPCRG 2nd World Conference Official Opening

Welcome Ceremony

Setting the Scene 

Spirometry Event

Keynote 3 and 4

Avian Influenza

National Medicines Symposium 2004

Priority Driven Research Program

Conference Diary 2004

Special 2nd Edition

Welcome to the second edition of the National Asthma Council Newsletter for 2004.

The focus for this special 2nd edition is the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) 2nd World Conference that was held last week in Melbourne, Australia. 

More reports from the conference will appear in next month's edition.

For those of you who attended the conference, photos are available at the IPCRG Melbourne web site
IPCRG Melbourne Conference
(http://www.ipcrg-melbourne.org)

IPCRG 2nd World Conference
Official Conference Opening, 19 February

Dr Ron Tomlins
Chairman of the National Asthma Council and
Chairman of the IPCRG Conference Organising Committee

It is my great pleasure to welcome so many colleagues in primary care respiratory medicine from so many countries to the IPCRG 2nd World Conference 2004. It is a reflection of the wide membership of the IPCRG that so many of you have travelled so far to be here. We thank you for your tremendous support and your commitment to making the IPCRG work as a worldwide network. As the Chairman of the National Asthma Council, host of this conference on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, I would like to welcome you formally to ‘the Land Downunder’!

For the full text go to IPCRG Program Highlights for Day 1, Thursday 19 February
IPCRG Melbourne 2004
(http://www.ipcrg-melbourne.org/news.htm#high)

Welcome Ceremony

Mr Ian Hunter, elder of the Wurundjeri people, the indigenous people of Melbourne, honoured the conference delegates as he and his dancers welcomed them all to their land in a traditional ceremony.

Setting the Scene

Dr H. John Fardy
Co-President IPCRG
Chair of the National Asthma Council's
GP Asthma Group, Australia

There are a number of challenges facing those of us working in Primary Care in the management of respiratory disease:

• Pressures within the various health care systems

• workforce issues

• infectious diseases in the community (including SARS)

• information relevant for Primary Care

• lifestyle diseases and lifestyle modification

Challenges facing IPCRG:

• our diversity of systems and people

• communication

• structure of our health care systems with available people and other resources

• our aspirations

The role of this conference in addressing these challenges is

• to learn

• to share

• to experience

• to enjoy.

Spirometry Event

20 February - Collins Place

Australian long-distance swimmer, Susie Maroney OAM, who has asthma, opened the Spirometry Event and was the first to take the test tagged: “You’ve got to blow to know”.

Dr H John Fardy, Co-President of the International Primary Care Respiratory Group, said spirometry can assist in providing answers for people showing signs of asthma or COPD and also help track a person’s progress.

“If a person is experiencing symptoms such as wheeze, chest tightness, shortness of breath and cough, it could be asthma. And one of the better ways of clarifying the situation to find out is through spirometry testing.

Likewise, if a person already has asthma, spirometry can monitor asthma treatment and determine its level of success," Dr Fardy said. “And for COPD, it is an essential tool for diagnosis.”

GPs, respiratory scientists and asthma educators conducted free spirometry tests.

All guidelines recommend spirometry as the 'gold-standard' for the objective measurement of lung function in respiratory disease.

Useful Resources

Video The Role of Spirometry in General Practice

Spirometry Handbook

Keynote 3 - IPAG: New WHO Primary Care Guidelines for Rhinitis, Asthma And COPD.

Professor C.P. (Onno) van Schayck
University of Maastricht Research Institute Caphri 

IPAG is an independent group of internationally recognized primary care specialists in the management of airways disease with strong links to primary care respiratory groups (such as IPCRG) and global primary care groups (WONCA). IPAG seeks endorsement and collaboration from external societies and specialists groups (ERS, EAACI)......

For the full abstract go to IPCRG Program Highlights for Day 2, Friday 20 February
IPCRG Melbourne 2004
(http://www.ipcrg-melbourne.org/news.htm#high)

Keynote 4 - Actions Required to Reduce the Burden of Asthma in the Asia-Pacific Region

Richard Beasley
Medical Research Institute of New Zealand
Wellington, New Zealand

The burden of asthma within the Asia-Pacific region is considerable in terms of prevalence, morbidity, mortality and economic cost. It is likely that the burden will increase substantially over the next few decades, due to the predicted increase in asthma prevalence, as communities progressively adopt western lifestyles and become urbanised.

Until there is a greater understanding of the factors that cause asthma, and novel public health and pharmacological measures become available to reduce the prevalence of asthma, the priority is to ensure that cost-effective management strategies are available to as many persons as possible with asthma in the region...........

For the full abstract go to IPCRG Program Highlights for Day 2, Friday 20 February
IPCRG Melbourne 2004
(http://www.ipcrg-melbourne.org/news.htm#high)

Avian Influenza

The Commonwealth Department of Health has issued advice for medical practitioners on the risks of avian influenza in Australia. The overall risk of transmission to humans is small, requiring close contact with sick poultry or poultry droppings.

Agricultural and quarantine authorities in Australia are taking all possible steps to prevent the arrival and spread of the virus into Australia.

The Department of Health has published further resources for health practitioners and patients, including a patient hotline and frequently asked questions at

Avian Influenza

http://www.health.gov.au/avian_influenza/

National Medicines Symposium 2004

Quality Use of Medicines - Time for total integration

The National Medicines Symposium 2004 will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane Australia from the 28-30 July. This is the third biennial symposium run by NPS and the Pharmaceutical Health and Rational use of Medicines (PHARM) Committee.

This national forum for Quality Use of Medicines (QUM), will bring together international and national experts, health professionals, consumers, policy makers, project and program coordinators, researchers and academics, pharmaceutical industry, government departments, health organisations, and medical writers to debate and discuss the current state and future of QUM.

For more information visit the website at

National Medicines Symposium 2004
(http://www.nps.org.au/nms2004)

Priority Driven Research Program - Round 2

 Australian Health Ministers' Conference
Call for Expressions of Interest

The Australian Health Ministers’ Conference (AHMC) has initiated an exciting program to identify key areas of health research priority in Australia. This is its second round of research funding and the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) will allocate $4 million towards supporting priority research areas that investigate:

• The hypothesis that alternate models of health care/services for older people with disability or chronic illness improves health and well being outcomes in a cost-effective manner

• How current service mix and model of service provisions for aged care can be developed to meet expected changes in demand over the next 10 years

• In comparison with other models of care, does multi-disciplinary care in the management of people with chronic and/or complex conditions lead to improved health outcomes

• Whether increased patient/consumer involvement in decision making about their health and clinical care lead to improved capacity to self-manage and to better health and wellbeing outcomes

• In the context of evolving societal structures, strategies which are most effective in minimising harm to young people from individual or combined high risk behaviours

• Why the prevalence and incidence of Hepatitis C is continuing to increase, despite the implementation of a range of preventive strategies and propose new strategies to contain and reduce its spread.

Expressions of interest must be lodged by cob Friday 5 March 2004. Go to NHMRC

(http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/funding/ahmc.htm)

Conference Diary 2004

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