Asthma and COPD

Course Overview

This Course will briefly overview two respiratory conditions - asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It will then focus on providing an evidenced update on the treatment of asthma, COPD and when the two cognitions co-exist (asthma-COPD overlap).

Need

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) are chronic lung disorders that occur frequently in the general population. Patient outcomes require that these respiratory conditions are well understood and that health professionals are familiar with current treatment options.

Purpose

The purpose of this video learning activity is to provide health professionals with education relating to asthma and COPD in order to support best patient outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

• A person in your care, who manifests signs and symptoms of asthma or COPD will be either treated or referred for appropriate treatment.
• In-depth knowledge of the treatment of asthma and COPD will support the best-practice use of medicines and reduce the likelihood of unwanted effects.
• People in your care will receive correct evidence-based education about the use of medicines used to treat asthma and COPD.

Target Audience

All health professionals will gain confidence from undertaking this Course, given the prevalence of asthma and COPD.

Disclosure

No conflict of interest exists for anyone in the position to control content for this activity. Wherever possible, generic or non-proprietary names of medications or products have been used.

Educator

Jenny Gowan

Jenny Gowan, a practising pharmacist, is a teaching associate at Monash University, Melbourne and a clinical associate of RMIT University. She is a member of the PSA Branch committee, the Expert Group for Therapeutic Guidelines – Respiratory version 5, an editorial board member of AUS-DI, SHPA "Don’t Rush to Crush", the Guidelines Committee for the Australian Asthma Handbook (AAH) and the writing group for the RACGP ‘Medical Care of older persons in RACF’ (Silver book). Jenny is an accredited consultant pharmacist who conducts her own company, which focuses on medication reviews in the home and aged care facilities, plus education, writing, training and consultation. Jenny works regularly in community pharmacy plus sessions in a GP clinic at a community health centre. She has published over 400 educational articles. Jenny has presented talks at many Australian and international conferences to GPs, nurse practitioners, nurses, podiatrists, pharmacists, and other health professionals. In 2013, she was awarded the Australian Pharmacist of the Year by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and, in 2016, the AACP-MIMs Australian Consultant Pharmacist of the Year. See Educator Profile