Statement of Need

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway with increasing prevalence. Approximately 5-10% of patients with asthma can be classified as having severe asthma in which they continue to experience symptoms despite therapy. Guidelines recommend referral to a specialist so that patients with uncontrolled severe asthma can receive add-on therapies and reduce exposure to side effects associated with chronic use or oral corticosteroids. Yet, evidence indicates that referral rates by primary care providers are suboptimal and that specialty care for asthma is underutilized. Primary care providers must be able to recognize severe asthma, tease out potential causes, and refer in a timely manner for patients with severe asthma to realize benefits.

Target Audience

This program is intended for primary care providers managing patients with severe asthma.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

  • Review guideline recommendations around situations where referral of adult patients with asthma are warranted
  • Identify the mechanisms of action as well as clinical and real-world evidence with the available CIC agents
  • Describe protocols to recognize and facilitate timely referral of high-risk patients with asthma to specialty care
  • Outline coordination of care practices to improve patient-centric management of severe asthma

Method of Participation

This activity will take up to 3.25 hours to complete. To receive credit, participants are required to complete the questionnaire, action plan, and view interventions during the assess stage. After a minimum of 30 days, participants are required to revisit the portal to reflect on their action plan progress, as well as complete an evaluation and reflection questionnaire. A certificate will be available upon completion. There is no fee to participate in the activity or for the generation of the certificate.

ABIM credit will be submitted to ABIM within 30 days of completion

For questions, contact Laurie Novoryta at Lnovoryta@achlcme.org

Accreditation and Credit Designation Statement


Penn State College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Penn State College of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 3.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM through their reciprocity agreements.

MOC Part IV

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 2.5 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC points.

By providing your ABIM Diplomate number, you consent to have ACHL and/or our educational partners submit your participation in this activity to the ABIM through the ACCME PARS system. ABIM credit will be submitted to PARS on the first day of each month.

MIPS Improvement Activity

Completion of this activity, including the pretest, posttest, and follow-up assessments, qualifies as a medium weight MIPS improvement activity under MACRA and can be claimed as completion of IA_PSPA 28 of an Accredited Safety or Quality Improvement Program in the Quality Payment Program. Clinicians should submit their improvement activities by attestation via the CMS Quality Payment Program website. You will receive additional information after completing the activity and receiving your certificate via email.

Disclosures

Penn State College of Medicine and the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL) require that the faculty participating in an accredited continuing education activity disclose all affiliations or other financial relationships within 24 months (1) with the manufacturers of any commercial product(s) and/or provider(s) of commercial services discussed in an educational presentation and (2) with all ineligible companies. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated prior to this activity.

The following financial relationships have been provided:

Njira Lugogo, MD
Advisory Board/Consultant: AstraZeneca, Genentech, GSK, Sanofi/Regeneron, Teva
Speaker : AstraZeneca, GSK


Neil Skolnik, MD
Advisory Board/Consultant: Abbott, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim/Lilly, Genentech
GSK, Idorsia, Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Sanofi Pasteur
Research Support: AstraZeneca, Bayer, GSK, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Sanofi Pasteur
Speaker: Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim/Lilly, GSK, Heartland, Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi Pasteur, Teva

Discussion of Off-Label, Investigational, or Experimental Drug/Device Use: None

Staff and Reviewer Disclosures

Penn State College of Medicine and ACHL staff members involved with the planning, development, and review of the content for this activity have no relevant affiliations or financial relationships to disclose.

Disclaimer

The content for this activity was developed independently of any ineligible company. All materials are included with permission. The opinions expressed are those of the faculty and are not to be construed as those of the publisher or grantor(s).

This educational activity was planned and produced in accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Recommendations involving clinical medicine in a continuing medical education (CME/CE) activity must be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients. All scientific research referred to, reported, or used in CME/CE in support or justification of a patient care recommendation must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.

This CME/CE activity might describe the off-label, investigational, or experimental use of medications and/or devices that may exceed their FDA-approved labeling. Physicians should consult the current manufacturers’ prescribing information for these products. Penn State College of Medicine and ACHL require the speakers to disclose that a product is not labeled for the use under discussion.

Acknowledgement

Provided by Penn State College of Medicine and the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL).

Supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals