June 25, 2020 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (CT)

The American Lung Association in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Public Health will hold an educational session for health professionals on the latest statistics, treatment options, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) research findings on June 25, 2020.

Chronic lower respiratory disease, including COPD, is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Fifteen million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD. In Arkansas, 11.6 percent of Medicare recipients suffer from COPD, which is slightly higher than the national average of 11.2 percent. COPD in Arkansas webinar is being created to address the COPD health professional education gap in Arkansas.

The first session will address Arkansas-specific epidemiology, while the second session will address the recently published 2020 GOLD Report, which provides comprehensive recommendations for the diagnosis, assessment, and management of COPD. Important factors affecting clinician uptake of the recommendations include a lack of familiarity with or delayed adoption of GOLD 2020 therapeutic strategy, undertreatment or mistreatment based on disease severity, lack of individualization of management plans, and a lack of patient self-management support.

COPD in Arkansas will review the new recommendations and enable clinicians to apply assessment and management strategies that incorporate the latest evidence to guide development of individualized management plans for patients with COPD. This webinar will educate respiratory therapists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who treat COPD in the community setting. Clinicians will have a better understating of the cessation services offered by the Arkansas Department of Health in addition to providing patients other resources from the webinar’s toolkit.