CMR Institute | Education for Pharmaceutical Representatives, Biotech, & Medical Device Industries

Asthma: Approaches in Disease Management

This course provides an in-depth understanding of asthma management as it is approached from a disease management perspective. The course begins with an overview of the disease, including its epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Next, treatment guidelines that have been developed for distinct asthmatic populations are discussed. The course then reviews some of the ways providers have incorporated practice guidelines into their organizations and applied them in comprehensive asthma management programs. The course concludes with a description of the important role that the pharmaceutical industry can play in the development and implementation of asthma management programs.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to discuss the causes, epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of asthma; describe the guidelines used to treat mild intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent, and severe persistent asthma; describe the rationale and application of asthma disease management programs in healthcare organizations; and discuss the important role that the pharmaceutical industry and the healthcare representative can play in the development of asthma management programs.

Who Should Take This Course

Sales representatives and managers who interact with healthcare providers who treat asthma patients, such as primary care physicians, respiratory therapists, allergists, pharmacists, and others, healthcare organization professionals and administrators, and those with an interest in the comprehensive management of this disease.

Career Applications/Benefits

Many healthcare organizations today are turning to clinical practice guidelines and comprehensive asthma management programs as a means to improve overall asthma care and reduce rising costs. This provides an opportunity for pharmaceutical sales, since drug therapy is often the primary treatment modality in effective asthma management programs. In some cases, pharmaceutical companies are partnering with healthcare organizations to develop and implement these programs. This course will benefit those in pharmaceutical companies that develop or market asthma products. The information provided in the course will help sales representatives and others with an interest in the management of the disease understand basic concepts and key issues in asthma treatment and management so that they can knowledgeably discuss these subjects with healthcare professionals.