We recently hosted a webinar with Dr Paul Ryan on the asthma guidance changes that you can view on our Learning Hub...
Asthma diagnosis in primary care:
https://prism.medicalprotection.org/course/view.php?id=1793
Asthma management in primary care:
https://prism.medicalprotection.org/course/view.php?id=1794
Maintaining professional competence throughout your career is necessary for the delivery of a good standard of patient care and is an essential part of any healthcare professional’s practice.
Patients expect healthcare professionals to stay up to date and to be competent in their particular speciality or field of expertise. There is also a professional obligation to comply with the requirements for maintenance of professional competence as set out by professional regulatory bodies like the Medical Council.
Keeping up to date with changes and developments within your field of practice can have a significant impact on health outcomes for patients including a reduction in mortality and morbidity. A recent example of the importance of this is the changes to asthma guidelines in Ireland.
The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) 2025 Guidelines were published earlier this year. Soon after the HSE and Irish College of General Practitioners reviewed and contextualised the changes for local practice.
Ireland has one of the highest rates of asthma worldwide and approximately 450,000 people or 8% of the population currently have asthma, making it the most common chronic respiratory disease in Ireland. In 2022, 87 people died from asthma in Ireland and in the second quarter of 2024 there was an 11% increase in respiratory related deaths. It is estimated that about 90% of asthma deaths could be prevented through improved asthma management and care.
Often underestimated and misunderstood as a disease, asthma can be disruptive, challenging and frightening for those who have it, impacting on personal, social, family and work life. For people with asthma, timely diagnosis and appropriate management, can have transformative results on their health outcomes and quality of life.
Research conducted by the Asthma Society of Ireland found that getting a diagnosis of severe asthma can be difficult as patients don’t feel that GPs always have the knowledge to make an early diagnosis. Negative experiences tend to revolve around low awareness of GPs about the condition, leading to slow diagnoses or sometimes misdiagnoses. Worldwide, there are trends showing both underdiagnosis in some populations and overdiagnosis in others, depending on clinical practices and symptom presentation.
As highlighted, severe asthma is a life-threatening condition that significantly impacts patients' overall well-being and quality of life. Despite its profound effects, access to treatment and medical support remains inconsistent, highlighting a need for improvement.
Diagnosis and optimal management of asthma presents a considerable challenge, however, by increasing awareness and understanding of new guidelines for the management and diagnosis of asthma patients can receive improved support and treatment.
In two presentations recorded by Medical Protection, entitled Asthma Management in Primary Care and Asthma Diagnosis in Primary Care, Dr Paul Ryan, a GP based in Cork City and a qualified pharmacist with over 20 years’ experience summarises the key recommendations of the updated guidelines.
As a healthcare professional, being knowledgeable and up to date about symptom recognition, diagnostic tests, the latest treatments and management strategies for patients with asthma and other conditions you can improve the quality of care provided to patients, reduce morbidity and mortality and improve health outcomes.
Resources used
TOWARDS OPTIMAL SEVERE ASTHMA CARE
Global Initiative for Asthma - Global Initiative for Asthma - GINA