Satellite broadcast to help rural doctors treat asthma
March 22, 2005The National Asthma Council, in conjunction with the Rural Health Education Foundation, will host an asthma satellite broadcast on Wednesday 30 March 2005, as part of its commitment to ensure rural health professionals are up-to-date with the latest trends in asthma, particularly advances in treatment and management.
Asthma and Combination Therapy: Getting the Balance Right focuses on the increasing use of combination therapy for the management of people with moderate to severe asthma. The broadcast will address issues such as the clinical indications for prescribing combination therapy, the correct dose to start patients on, when and how often to review the dose and how combination therapy can improve medication adherence and quality of life.
Parliamentary Secretary to introduce program
This initiative is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and the Parliamentary Secretary for Asthma, the Hon. Christopher Pyne will introduce the broadcast.
“Asthma remains the most widespread chronic health problem in Australia. The good news is asthma deaths are reducing steadily as we learn new ways of treating and managing this illness,” the Hon. Christopher Pyne said.
“Educational initiatives such as this satellite broadcast provide health professionals, particularly those in rural and remote areas, with first-hand, interactive, expert advice on current asthma issues and treatment.”
About the program
The broadcast, held in conjunction with the Rural Health Education Foundation, is available to more than 590 receiving sites in rural, regional and remote Australia and provides health-related education and information using satellite technology.
Dr Norman Swan, Presenter of the Health Report on ABC Radio National will chair the broadcast and moderate a panel of expert spokespeople, including Dr Kerry Hancock, GP, Assoc. Prof. Peter van Asperen, paediatric respiratory physician, Assoc. Prof. Jo Douglass, adult respiratory physician and allergist, and community pharmacist, Mr Peter Holder.
In addition, Mr Brett Lamb, a physiotherapist, will be linked to the broadcast via video conference to present on an innovative asthma education program for Aboriginal communities. He has developed the program in an Aboriginal community language, which he learned in order to be able to communicate asthma messages more effectively.
Dr Ron Tomlins, the Chairman of the National Asthma Council said, “We are pleased that the Australian Government continues to recognise that asthma is a major health priority. Their support enables us to continue presenting quality education to rural health professionals on best practice asthma management.”
Dr Tomlins added, “We know that country doctors, nurses and pharmacists have limited opportunities to talk directly with experts in the field. This satellite broadcast offers live interaction with presenters so we urge everyone to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.”
About 30 per cent of Australia’s 18,000 general practitioners and 30 per cent of the country’s 12,000 pharmacists practise in rural, regional and remote areas. Many of them have far-flung patient bases: over 750,000 Australians live more than a 20 km drive from a GP, and almost 150,000 live more than 80 km away. In addition, over 50,000 Australians live more than an 80 km drive from the nearest primary health care location.
Online combination therapy information statement
The National Asthma Council has also recently conducted a review of the literature on combination therapy and will soon be publishing an information statement for health professionals on its website, www.nationalasthma.org.au .
Broadcast details
This program will be broadcast live on Channel 4 of the Foundation’s satellite network on Wednesday 30 March 2005 at:
- 8.00pm in ACT, NSW, QLD, VIC & TAS.
- 7.30pm in SA & NT.
- 6.00pm in WA (and repeated on channel 23 at 8.00pm that night in WA).
The broadcast will be repeated on Channel 23 on Friday 1 April 2005 at:
- 12.30pm in ACT, NSW, QLD, VIC & TAS.
- 12 noon in SA & NT.
- 10.30am in WA.
Other viewing options
The program will also be available for viewing via webstreaming and for purchase on video.
For further information on how to view the program, contact the Rural Health Education Foundation via email at rhef@rhef.com.au, telephone (02) 6232-5480 or visit the program web page.
Asthma information
For information about asthma and better asthma management visit the National Asthma Council website.