Over the past year, our partners have developed and shared several valuable resources to help family physicians better identify, manage, and mitigate risks for patients with asthma. Below are some of the most helpful tools – many of which offer continuing medical education (CME) credit, patient education, checklists, infographics, and new clinical guidance.
GINA 2025: Assessment of Asthma Control Summary
Family physicians are on the front line of asthma care, and new guidance emphasizes a shift toward safer, more effective strategies.
- No More Short-Acting Bata-Agonist (SABA) Only Treatment: Evidence shows even modest SABA overuse raises exacerbation and mortality risk. Every patient should receive an anti-inflammatory approach.
- Anti-Inflammatory Reliever (AIR) Therapy with Inhaled Corticosteroid (ICS)/SABA: In Step 1 of GINA Track 2, low-dose ICS is recommended whenever SABA is used, while Steps 2–5 advise daily ICS maintenance therapy with as-needed ICS-SABA or SABA alone. Since patients with infrequent symptoms often have poor adherence to daily ICS, prescribing daily ICS with as-needed SABA may leave them at risk if ICS is not used. Using ICS-containing rescue therapy is likely better for these patients, ensuring they receive some ICS rather than SABA alone.
- Risk Matters as Much as Symptoms: Patients with few daily symptoms may still be high risk if they have recent severe exacerbations, low forced expiratory volume in one second, or comorbidities such as obesity, GERD, or chronic rhinosinusitis.
- Tailored, Stepwise Care: Options range from low-dose ICS to add-on biologics for severe asthma, with an emphasis on adherence, inhaler technique, and comorbidity management.
- Beyond Medications: Smoking cessation, vaccinations, physical activity, and allergen management remain essential in whole-person care.
Adopting these strategies could mean fewer exacerbations, safer care, and better quality of life for your patients.
Asthma Resource Center from PRECISION
The Asthma Resource Center, offered by PRECISION (an unbranded initiative of AstraZeneca Medical Affairs) is dedicated to improving the diagnosis and management of uncontrolled asthma, and helping bring the promise of precision medicine into more clinical practices.
- A physician checklist for use during clinic visits can help you systematically assess asthma control and identify when escalation or changes are needed.
- Patient-facing tools: short videos, educational resources for caregivers, and a patient resource library.
- Physician tools for in-depth self-review and learning.
- An infographic, Improving Asthma Outcomes, which provides an accessible summary of best practices for asthma management under current guidelines.
We encourage you to take advantage of these partner resources—many are free (or low-cost), clinically up to date, and ready to be used.
Looking to complete a performance improvement (PI) project focused on asthma? The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) has you covered with its free EasyPI: Asthma track! This tool helps you complete a self-guided PI project focused on asthma that will satisfy your American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) PI requirement and earn CME credit.
If there are other topics or conditions you’d like partner resources on, please let us know.
AstraZeneca is a proud Partner in Health of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians.