PERSONALIZING TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA

Asthma is a chronic obstructive respiratory disease that affects more than 300 million people world-wide and more than 25 million children and adults in the United States. There is an urgent need to improve the care of the estimated 5% to 10% of these patients who have severe asthma, which accounts for an outsized proportion of the disease’s morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Approximately 50% of patients with asthma continue to have “not well-controlled” or “poorly controlled” asthma despite using recommended step-care treatment. Poorly controlled asthma is a significant contributor to poor quality of life, and inadequate response to therapy indicates the need to review and modify treatment. Asthma education and training can be effectively delivered by a range of health clinicians, including pharmacists. Continuing education of clinicians serving on the front lines is vital to quality asthma management.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, the participant should be able to:

Describe the pathophysiologic features of asthma, including new insights into disease phenotypes and therapeutic targets for biologic medications.

Compare and contrast key recommendations from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 3 (NAEPP EPR-3) and The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Program.

Explain a stepwise approach to recommend effective pharmacotherapy based on asthma severity and subtype.

List potential advantages and possible shortcomings of available inhalation delivery systems to individualize asthma therapy.

Recognize the proper use of various inhalation devices to support patient self-management education.