Lead Articles
The 3+ Visit Plan
Asthma is one of the ten most common reasons for visiting a GP in Australia. But there are still people with asthma who are undiagnosed, and people who are diagnosed who suffer unnecessary disruption to their lives because their asthma is poorly controlled. More....
National Asthma Council's Asthma Management Handbook 2002
The National Asthma Council has produced excellent publications from its inception as the National Asthma Campaign in 1990. The fifth and latest edition of the Asthma Management Handbook is no exception.
Since the publication of the last Asthma Management Handbook in 1998, we have changed our name to the National Asthma Council. The name change reflects the organisation's relevance, reputation and purpose beyond the original short-term promotional vehicle. As the peak body for asthma in Australia, we continue to highlight the importance of asthma education and management today and the ongoing need to take - and treat - asthma seriously. More....
Combination Therapy: its role in asthma management
An important part of the National Asthma Council's (NAC) role is to provide up-to-date information on asthma medications to health professionals .
The NAC, with a team comprising a GP, pharmacist and adult and paediatric respiratory physicians, has produced a comprehensive information paper for health professionals on the role of combination therapy in asthma management. More....
Poor asthma control costs more
The increase in medications prices announced in the Federal Budget last month means that people with asthma will pay a little more for their inhalers (puffers) from August. How much more they have to pay can be minimised by a clear understanding that well controlled asthma generally costs less than poorly controlled asthma.
Poorly controlled asthma keeps people away from school, work and other usual activity. Having good control, sticking with prescribed preventer medication, even when feeling well, is a good investment. Here's why. More....
Paediatric Asthma in the Asthma Management Handbook.
Managing a child with asthma is a continuing challenge. There is evidence of increasing asthma prevalence and severity in children and asthma is the most common medical cause for hospital admission in children.
The encouraging news is that for the majority of children, asthma will either resolve or at least improve with age. There is, however, a large variation in the pattern and severity of asthma in childhood. Achieving a balance between the intensity of the treatment and the severity of the asthma will assist a child to achieve normal quality of life, normal levels of cardiopulmonary fitness and normal growth.
The diagnosis of asthma for the majority of children is entirely clinical, and is based on a history of recurrent or persistent wheeze in the absence of any other apparent cause. More....
Asthma Adherence
Adherence issues are not confined to asthma. With acute phases to a chronic illness, asthma presents some special challenges for addressing adherence. Better medications and more lifestyle information do not necessarily lead to better management of asthma for the patient. However better communication from the doctor, pharmacist, asthma educator, and nurse can have a positive impact on patient adherence as the "Asthma Adherence - A Guide for Health Professionals" explains.
The guide is based on the belief that the health professional has a vital role to play in improving asthma adherence, and that we need to foster relationships with patients if we are to successfully combat non-adherence. More....
The Asthma 3+ Visit Plan Update
Originally developed by the National Asthma Council's General Practitioners' Asthma Group, the Asthma 3+ Visit Plan has become the cornerstone of the Federal Government GP Asthma Initiative, aiming to reduce the morbidity and mortality of people with moderate to severe asthma.
The Asthma 3+ Visit Plan assists GPs with planned asthma education and management within the normal consultation setting. More....
Asthma Management Handbook - References now online!
Over the past several months the contributing authors to the Asthma Management Handbook 2002 (AMH 2002) have been working hard to finish the latest references for the publication. More....
National Asthma Council Journalism Awards 2002
The National Asthma Council Journalism Awards were announced on the evening of Thursday November 14 by the Chairman of the National Asthma Council, Dr Ron Tomlins.
The NAC Awards aim to promote and encourage responsible reporting of issues related to asthma treatment, management and education across the media. More....
Significant Achievement in Better Asthma Management
The National Asthma Council has been working hard to improve the health of people with asthma. Results over the past decade have been very encouraging with a significantly reduced death rate. The latest statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the annual asthma death toll has fallen from 454 in 2000 to 422 in 2001, the lowest number recorded in five years. More....
Content Updated 2002
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ebruary 2002