The International Primary Care Airways Group (IPAG) was formed in 2001 by
family doctors, public health officials from WHO, and respiratory specialists
active in the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI),
the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), the Global Initiative for Chronic
Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), and the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on
Asthma Initiative (ARIA).
Their goal was to develop materials by and for family doctors that would be
appropriate to primary care diagnosis and treatment of chronic respiratory
diseases. Primary care clinicians treat the vast majority of patients
with chronic airways diseases. However, global evidence-based
practice guidelines are often complicated and recommend the use of resources
often not available in the primary care setting. IPAG developed the IPAG Handbook, which is now being released in
May 2005, which enables primary care physicians worldwide to select those practical
diagnostic and treatment measures from the established global practice
guidelines that can be carried out in their primary care environment and in
this way provide the best possible care for their patients with chronic
airways diseases.
The IPAG Handbook provides an algorithmic approach to differential diagnosis
of chronic respiratory diseases using validated questionnaires and diagnostic
guides that allow the physician to rapidly and accurately make diagnoses and
establish treatment. The physician can then implement diagnostic and
treatment measures using available resources as the template of local medical
practice and can select the most effective interventions that can be
accessed.
The Handbook organized the process of managing chronic airways diseases into tracks
that are tailored to the general practice setting.It describes an approach to diagnosis that helps the family
doctor to diagnose asthma, COPD and or allergic rhinitis based on the
patient's presenting airways symptoms and responses to a set of newly
developed questionnaires and diagnostic aids. In addition, it
specifically addresses the diagnosis and management of asthma in young
children, an aspect that is very important in primary care.
The Handbook provides algorithms that assist the user with diagnostic and
therapeutic decisions. If asthma, COPD, and/or rhinitis are determined
to be likely diagnoses, the clinician can follow the appropriate, color-coded
"Diagnosis Tracks" to support these diagnoses and "Management
Tracks" to help them assess the severity of the diseases and select
appropriate therapy. The IPAG Handbook presents management recommendations
that are consistent with the global evidence-based practice guidelines of
GINA, GOLD, and ARIA.
A group of more than 60 experts participated for 4 years in the Expert Panel
that prepared the IPAG Handbook. All editorial decisions relating to
the IPAG Handbook were made by the Expert Panel. Funding for the
project was provided by educational grants from professional organizations,
global initiatives, and industry and the overall project management of IPAG
was handled by MCR Vision, Inc. of Edgewater, New Jersey. The Handbook
is available in English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and
Portuguese. A Japanese edition is in preparation. Physicians can have
free access to the IPAG Handbook through the IPAG website
http://www.ipagguide.org , which may be
accessed through the WONCA website http://www.globalfamilydoctor.com.
The IPAG Handbook is endorsed by the International Primary Care
Respiratory Group (IPCRG) and the World Organization of
Family Doctors (WONCA).
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