Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1208415
Inhalation February 2020 31 • • Education on care, especially inhalation techniques • • Motivate patients to contact support groups For policy makers and payers: • • Structured empowerment with patients and healthcare professionals • • Facilitate digital transformation • • Develop regional or national management programs For patients: • • Getting latest tests if they feel their diagnosis is not correct For researchers: • • Eliminating barriers prevent- ing patient involvement in all research stages A request to join forces e EFA closed the report by "inviting everyone to join forces with patients to ensure that peo- ple with asthma and COPD in Europe have available, adequate, accessible, affordable, and appro- priate care, and are empowered to take charge of their disease and prevent exacerbations; and fur- thermore, to prevent asthma and COPD altogether and to support the development of a cure." References Content for this article was based on and excerpted from: • • European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations. www.efanet.org. • • Active Asthma and COPD Patients ACCESS Care Report, October 2019. European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations. www.efanet. org/images/ShowLeadership/ Report-Showleadership_ FINAL.pdf. • • Increased access to home-based management programs • • National and seasonal vaccina- tion plans • • Smoking cessation support For policy makers and payers: • • Improve access to preventative therapies • • Pulmonary rehabilitation after exacerbations or respiratory infections • • Structured national and regional plans on detection and surveillance For patients: • • Preventative therapies such as smoking-cessation or pulmo- nary rehabilitation • • Preventive care For researchers: • • Urgent need for more effective and curative treatment Showleadership on prevention For healthcare providers: • • Include mental health issues in chronic disease management • • Follow up on self-management plans For policy makers: • • Tackle indoor and outdoor risk factors • • Support healthy life and living well • • Support vaccinations and dissuade misinformation about them For everyone: • • Increase frequent check-ups, education, real-time air quality information, etc. • • Improve patients' quality of life Empowerment For healthcare providers: • • Involve patients in decision-making • • Provide and agree with patients on action plans, which can be digital Showleadership on the diagnosis and access to care of asthma For healthcare providers: • • Education for use and interpre- tation of diagnosis tests; • • Specialized centers • • Specialists for uncertain diagnosis • • Personalized care (always for cases of severe asthma) • • Avoiding overuse of short- acting beta agonists (SABAs) • • Two-way digital tools for follow-up and adherence For healthcare systems: • • Detection and reward for early correct diagnosis • • Multidisciplinary care centers • • Greater involvement by asthma nurses For policy makers and payers: • • Structured national and regional plans • • Upscaling medical devices, including e-m/Health therapies For patients: • • Access to education • • Balancing medicines side effects and benefits • • Information in written form For researchers: • • More funding for diag- nostics research and better diagnostic tests • • Patient registries • • Research on reasons for fre- quent clinic visits and emer- gency services at least annually • • More efficient and faster thera- pies with fewer side effects and the cure for asthma Showleadership on the diagnosis and access to care of COPD For healthcare providers: • • Regular spirometry for people at risk Back Page continued from page 32