FIP releases handbooks on managing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has released two new resources for pharmacists on how to better manage asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the most common chronic respiratory diseases. That includes Chronic Respiratory Diseases: A Handbook For Pharmacists and an accompanying reference guide. The FIP states that chronic respiratory diseases are often-overlooked non-communicable diseases, but they have an enormous impact, with 4% of people worldwide suffering from COPD, and more than 350 million from asthma. “Chronic respiratory diseases impose significant health and economic burdens on individuals, healthcare systems and society overall,” Gonçalo Sousa Pinto, FIP lead for practice development and transformation and editor of the handbook, said in a press release. Read: Ask two simple questions about “reliever” use to assess asthma control “As healthcare delivery undergoes a paradigm shift towards a people-centred care approach to optimising therapy and health outcomes, pharmacists are well-positioned to play a unique and complementary role in an inter-professional collaborative care model to manage chronic respiratory diseases,” Pinto continues. That role can include prevention, detection, patient education, referrals, and long-term health management, the reference guide argues. In fact, studies have shown that patients improve their knowledge of a disease and their adherence to medication, improve their quality of life, reduce hospitalizations, and have fewer disease exacerbations after pharmacist interventions. Read: QUIZ: What do you know about COPD exacerbations? To effectively do that, the FIP has also released Chronic Respiratory Diseases: A Handbook For Pharmacists. “Due to their accessibility and expertise in all communities and across all sectors, pharmacists are ideally positioned and qualified to provide holistic CRD care to their communities,” the handbook reads. “Despite the barriers that exist to implementing some of these services, there are numerous opportunities for pharmacists to expand their role as public health professionals and healthcare providers by taking steps to prevent, identify and manage the treatment of people living with asthma or COPD.” It covers the importance of treating these diseases, their clinical manifestations, prevention—through smoking cessation programs and broader advocacy around things like air pollution—screening tests, non-pharmacological recommendations, such as quitting smoking and increasing physical activity, and optimising medication, and palliative care. It also covers structural barriers to offering this care, how to ensure care is patient-centred, and ethical considerations. Read: Canadian pharmacist elected to FIP leadership

FIP releases handbooks on managing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

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