Accredited Symptomatic Asthma CME Launched on epgonline.org

Not for audiences in the US and Canada

LONDON, 26-8-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — This week, epgonline.org, the website for healthcare professionals, welcomes the launch of a free symptomatic asthma Continuing Medical Education (CME) activity, available at epgonline.org/symptomatic-asthma/cme/. Accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), this short online educational module is designed to support primary care physicians in Europe with a better understanding of the management of patients’ asthma control.

An estimated 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, with prevalence varying between countries. This number is expected to grow by more than 100 million by 2025.¹ Asthma is poorly controlled in more than 40% of patients, and each year a significant proportion of patients are admitted to A&E for nebulisation.² A large number of asthma-related deaths could be prevented with the implementation of better symptom management.¹

The new CME activity urges doctors to challenge patients’ asthma control and teach them the importance of using their equipment correctly by applying a range of industry-standard treatment guidelines. The CME activity sits within the Symptomatic Asthma Learning Zone: epgonline.org/symptomatic-asthma/. Additional resources include the Disease Awareness Section, which contains information on symptom control, disease burden and clinical guidelines.

The CME activity consists of four modules with accompanying multiple-choice practice challenges based around video discussions between the specialist faculty3. These modules cover key learning points focusing on asthma control, current standard asthma treatment, and the pros and cons of add-on treatment. The modules are flexible and can be taken in any order and in multiple sittings; they can be completed in around 1 hour in total. Upon successful completion of this activity, participants will be awarded 1 hour’s CME credit.

Dr Toby Galbraith, Director of Content Strategy for epgonline.org said: “We are pleased to add the symptomatic asthma CME to our portfolio of educational resources for healthcare professionals, thanks to an educational grant from Boehringer Ingelheim. It is important that doctors understand the need for patients to implement proper symptom control, and we are confident that this new activity will enable physicians to help them achieve it.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• EPG Health Media (Europe) Ltd publishes www.epgonline.org, an independent website dedicated to providing healthcare professionals worldwide with free access to a comprehensive range of diseases and medicines information. Categorised by medical specialty, content within epgonline.org includes a multi-language database of approved medications, treatment guidelines, clinical trial reports, journal abstracts, latest medical industry news, apps, image libraries and a wide range of learning zones.
• Boehringer Ingelheim is a leading pharmaceutical company founded by Albert Boehringer in 1885. The company has headquarters in Ingelheim, Germany, and operates globally with over 47,000 employees. Key areas of interest include respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, HIV, Parkinson’s disease, thromboembolic disease and cerebrovascular disease.
• The faculty experts who prepared the CME modules are:

a. Professor Thys van der Molen, Professor of Primary Care Respiratory Medicine in Groningen, The Netherlands. He is a member of the board at the Groningen Research Institute of Asthma and COPD (GRIAC).
b. Dr Richard Russell, Consultant Physician at the Lymington New Forest Hospital, Southern Healthcare NHS Trust. He has special interests in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and delivery of care.

References:

1. Masoli M, et al. The global burden of asthma: executive summary of the GINA Dissemination Committee Report. Allergy 2004;59:469–478.

2. Demoly P, et al. Update on asthma control in five European countries: results of a 2008 survey. Eur Respir Rev. 2010;19:150–157.

Media contacts:

EPG Health Media (Europe) Ltd
51-55 The Pantiles
Tunbridge Wells
Kent
TN2 5TE