Healthcare Professionals

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Environmental Triggers of Asthma

This document is designed to increase the primary care provider’s knowledge of hazardous substances in the environment and to promote the adoption of medical practices that help evaluate and care for potentially exposed patients.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Asthma Speaker’s Kit for Health Care Professionals   [Español]

This slide presentation depicts the pathophysiology of asthma; prevalence, mortality, and morbidity measures at the national level; risk factors; medical management; and the public health response needed to successfully fight asthma. Please continue to visit this site for future updates.

CDC’s Recommendations—Influenza and People with Asthma

People with asthma are at high risk of developing complications after contracting the influenza virus, yet most people with asthma do not receive an annual flu vaccination. Children and adults with asthma should receive an annual influenza vaccination.

• Asthma and Flu Shots
• Flu Symptoms and Severity—Anyone Can Get the Flu, But the Disease Is More Severe for Some People
• Persons for Whom Annual Vaccination Is Recommended

Medical Organizations—Respiratory Diseases

American College of Chest Physicians

This site provides information about prevention and treatment of diseases, including asthma, through education, research, and communication.

American Thoracic Society

The American Thoracic Society fosters the gathering, evaluating, and disseminating of scientific and clinical information. This Web page provides clinical information about asthma.

National Jewish Health

This medical and research center focuses on respiratory, immunologic, allergic, and infectious diseases.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

National Asthma Education and Prevention Program: Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (July 2007 update)

The guidelines emphasize the importance of asthma control and introduce new approaches for monitoring asthma. Updated recommendations for managing asthma include an expanded section on childhood asthma (with an additional age group), new guidance on medications, new recommendations on patient education in settings beyond the physician's office, and new advice for controlling environmental factors that can cause asthma symptoms.

The guidelines were developed by an expert panel commissioned by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee, which is coordinated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

Other resources:

• NHLBI’s Healthy People 2010 Respiratory Gateway
  This site provides you quick, easy access to information and resources on asthma.
• National Asthma Education and Prevention Program
  This site provides you information about the program and about asthma according to target audience.
• Physician Asthma Care Education
  The Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE) program is a multimedia educational seminar to improve physician awareness, ability, and use of communication and therapeutic techniques for reducing the effects of asthma on children and their families. It also provides instruction on how to document, code, and improve asthma counseling reimbursement.

Training Tool for Health Professionals

Guidelines for the Diagnosis & Management of Asthma: Parts 1 through 4

These comprehensive reading activities present aspects of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma for practitioners. These activities are free but require registration.

 

• Links to non-federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the federal government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.