We are pleased to announce that thanks to the efforts of the Polish Society of Allergology, the MASK-air application has been certified by the Ministry of Health and is included in the Health Application Portfolio (PAZ).

This is the second application of this type in this project, and at the same time the first in the field of allergology.

MASK-air is an application intended for people who suffer from allergic rhinitis or asthma and was developed by a team of experts led by prof. J. Bousquet. It is available in Polish and allows for systematic recording of all symptoms. The data collected in the application is useful not only for the patient, but also for the doctor, who can use it to control the effectiveness of the therapy and the drugs used. This is a step forward towards digitization and individualization of the treatment process.

The MASK-air application is used all over the world by thousands of patients and doctors, which also provides great opportunities to analyze allergic diseases and the effectiveness of their treatment in different countries.

We encourage patients and medical staff to download it and use it. https://www.mask-air.com/

The new GINA has already been published – a document necessary for every doctor dealing with asthma.

We invite you to read this study at https://ginasthma.org/2024-report/

The 8th Patient Empowerment Congress takes place on May 14-15 under the patronage of the Polish Society of Allergology in Warsaw. This is an event addressed to patients, doctors, caregivers of people with chronic diseases, decision-makers and experts who, through their everyday actions, influence the shape of the protection system. It is a pretext to talk about what changes are needed in the health system, in education, in health prevention, and in doctor-patient communication. During the Congress, during the panel discussion “Health is multi-threaded. What will save us? Personalization of therapy, vaccinations, education? “Case analysis on the example of lifestyle diseases” also presented the projects and assumptions of the Coalition for Asthma Treatment – the most important initiative dealing with the improvement of asthma diagnostics and therapy. The axis of the debate was the position of the patient in the health system, and event participants could learn about topics such as:

• epidemiology of asthma as a lifestyle disease,
• educational projects and pro-patient activities of the Coalition,
• proposals for systemic changes in access to the latest therapies (especially biological ones).

The Patient Empowerment Congress is an excellent discussion and networking platform, so we hope that the Coalition’s demands and proposals for systemic solutions for asthma treatment presented during this event will become part of a broad discussion on improving the situation of millions of patients in Poland.

We invite you to actively participate in the celebration of World Asthma Day 2024!

• Workshops for journalists “Education in asthma – an essential element of treatment” April 25, PAP Press Center in Warsaw
• Media campaign for World Asthma Day 2024 Press release to industry and national media regarding asthma
• Webinar “Standards for diagnosing asthma” May 7 at 7.30 p.m., lecturers” prof. P. Majak, prof. R. Pawliczak, de P. Dąbrowiecki
• Special issue of MedExpress Interviews with PTA experts devoted to a modern approach to asthma
• Webinar “Asthma in practice, or what should we know about it?” Meeting on May 7 at 17.00 will be led by Dr. K. Janeczek.

This time, we are pleased to announce that Anna Ben Drissi, managing director of the Polish Society of Allergology and coordinator of the Asthma Treatment Coalition, setting the tone for the development of both the PTA and the Coalition, has become a finalist of the MedWoman competition in the Grand Prix of the Year category for overall activities. As she says: medicine is an art and a woman, which intertwine every day in the decisions she makes and the activities she performs.

The first day of the HCC Congress, during which activities of the PTA and the Asthma Treatment Coalition took place: prof. In the session on e-health, M. Kupczyk presented the assumptions of the e-prescription 2.0 Asthma project, in the discussion panel on biological treatment in asthma, our experts, practitioners and decision-makers discussed opportunities and barriers in the development of this form of therapy, during Hyde Park, event participants could learn about the works presented by prof. R. Gawlik and A. Ben Drissi principles of management in anaphylaxis and our postulates in this matter.

A press meeting was held in Warsaw under the patronage of PTA and the Coalition for Asthma Treatment – “Treatment of severe asthma in Poland. Where are we and where do we want to be?

The entire discussion revolved around the latest reports devoted to the implementation of the B.44 drug program, as well as the treatment process and quality of life of asthma patients, prepared as part of the activities of the Coalition for Asthma Treatment.

Experts also presented the possibilities of increasing the use of biological therapy in AOS and at home, which would significantly improve the quality of life of patients with severe asthma in Poland.

The meeting was attended by medical experts, representatives of patient organizations, and specialists from health care organizations.

One of the most important opinion-forming events regarding the health care system in Poland is behind us – the 19th Forum Rynku Zdrowia. This year’s edition was held with the participation of representatives:

• Ministry of Health,
• government agencies,
• representatives of health facilities,
• patient and health organizations,
• medical and scientific societies,
• pharmaceutical sector.

As PTA and the Coalition for Asthma Treatment, we talked about asthma during this event. We introduced our key projects, achievements and proposals for systemic changes for the multi-million group of Polish patients to the Forum guests – we would like to thank the panelists and listeners for their active participation and interesting discussions.

On June 15, there was an online meeting of representatives of the Coalition for the Treatment of Asthma and prof. J. Bousquet with the Innovation Team of the Ministry of Health, devoted to the implementation of the MASK-Air application as a tool for monitoring allergic diseases in Poland. We hope that our efforts in this direction will achieve the goal of an official pilot application conducted by the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System.

New GINA guidelines are now available – a document necessary for every doctor dealing with asthma. These are comprehensive, practical and the most up-to-date standards for asthma diagnosis and therapy, prepared by world-class experts.

On May 2, we celebrate World Asthma Day initiated by the GINA Global Initiative for Asthma. This year we are focusing on the message “Asthma care for All”, which promotes access to effective, quality-guaranteed medicines for patients in low- and middle-income countries.

GINA works to improve the quality of life of people with asthma around the world, while committing to providing specific recommendations for the well-being of the natural environment.

World Asthma Day is an excellent opportunity to draw attention to the difficulties faced by people suffering from this disease, as well as to strengthen educational activities.

This year, in close cooperation with the Asthma Treatment Coalition, we are putting great emphasis on showing asthma through the patient’s eyes, because this perspective is of paramount value in designing our activities.

That’s why, apart from cooperation with the media, together with the Sekielski Brothers, we created a series of podcasts “Fighting for breath…”. This series of conversations is primarily about the authenticity of the stories of people who influence the quality of life of asthma patients, as well as the stories of themselves.
Additionally, we invite people who influence social opinion, i.e. influencers, to join our communication activities.
We believe that thanks to such holistic activities, the level of knowledge about asthma will increase and the discussion about needs will resonate.

The Polish Society of Allergology and the Coalition for Asthma Treatment could not miss the 8th Congress of Health Challenges, which took place on March 9-10 in Katowice.

During the Congress organized by Rynek Zdrowia, representatives of the PTA and the Coalition took part as experts in sessions and debates throughout the event regarding, among others: e-health, the relationship between primary care and healthcare, nasal polyps and increasing the availability and quality of health services.

Welcome to the report.

It will be a special time. This year, June 18-24 is World Allergy Week. On this occasion, in cooperation with the https://strefaalergii.pl/, we have prepared a solid dose of knowledge, interesting facts, tips and meetings:

• Webinars with experts, during which you will be able to ask questions and share your doubts.
• Interviews with prominent experts.
• And many other practical information.

All events will take place online. Thanks to this, every interested person will be able to join them at the best time for themselves.
We will present a detailed program soon. We invite you to follow our social media and websites pta.med.pl and strefaalergii.pl, where we will keep you informed about upcoming events.

The 17th Patient Organization Forum organized by the Institute of Patient Rights and Health Education is behind us. This event is an opportunity to reflect on the situation of patients, but also carers, health care workers and volunteers.

Every year, the Forum is attended by representatives of the Ministry of Health, the e-Health Centre, the National Health Fund, the Supreme Medical Chamber and a number of patient organizations such as the Polish Federation of Associations of Asthma, Allergy and COPD Patients.

This year, the President of the Federation, Dr. Piotr Dąbrowiecki, who is also a member of the PTA Main Board and a signatory of the Coalition for Asthma Treatment, discussed the conclusions of the report “Living with severe asthma. The patient’s point of view.

This research project was developed by and under the auspices of the Asthma Coalition and shows the perspective of 12 patients. We are glad that the official inauguration of the Report took place at such an event. We invite you to read the content of the report https://pta.med.pl/zycie-z-astma-ciezka/.

Already today, during the Vision of Health Congress organized by the Health Manager and Medical Courier, Dr. Piotr Dąbrowiecki will present the assumptions of the concept of “e-Prescription 2.0 – a project to optimize care for patients with asthma” by PTA and the Coalition for Asthma Treatment, which we jointly submitted to the competition “A healthy idea”.

Our initiative aims to design a tool dedicated to GPs and other health care professionals, which will support the control of treatment of patients with asthma and reduce the abuse of SABA drugs and oral corticosteroids.

Competition details: https://bit.ly/3e8JWfE.

The European Respiratory Society and International Respiratory Coalition meeting is starting today, entitled “Transforming Chronic Respiratory Care in a Post-pandemic World”.

Lasting on June 28-29 this year. the event will involve leaders of world and European pulmonology as well as representatives of governments and state institutions from all over Europe. The aim of the meeting is to exchange experiences in the field of appropriate diagnostics and therapy of lung diseases and allergic diseases of the respiratory system (such as COPD, asthma and others) in a popandemic reality.

ERS Secretary General and Signatory of the Coalition for Asthma Treatment, prof. Joanna Chorostowska-Wynimko, will represent the Coalition and will introduce its assumptions to the participants of the IRC Summit. The discussion among the most prominent experts will be an opportunity to present the Polish treatment organization, among others asthma and gaining knowledge about solutions used in this field in other countries. Thanks to the participation of representatives of the Coalition for Asthma Treatment in such meetings, we have the opportunity to act more effectively for the benefit of Polish patients.

We invite you to participate and jointly create ambitious strategies for the treatment of respiratory diseases based on the best practices. Details at the link: www.bit.ly/3A7s25x

On June 5-11, we celebrated World Allergy Week with the slogan “Asthma and allergic respiratory diseases: know your allergy, breathe well, live better”. On this occasion, members of the PTA and Asthma Treatment Dinner engaged in initiatives to raise awareness of the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of asthma, including severe asthma:

• participation in a conference organized by the Journalists for Health Association,
• participation in a debate co-organized with the Rzeczpospolita daily,
• cooperation with sectoral media: www.mZdrowie.pl and www.rynekzdrowia.pl,
• manual in the event of an asthma attack.

We are also active in the education of teachers in Polish schools. At the request of the Ministry of Health, our experts have developed a scheme for dealing with an asthma attack in a child.

We thank our experts for their commitment to work on building awareness of allergic diseases, including asthma and its severe form, and for being proactive in developing PTA.
At the same time, we encourage you to follow the activities of our Society and focus on the subject of asthma not only on the occasion of the passing initiative. The most important messages are listed below:

• Asthma – a model of diagnosis and treatment in Poland www.bit.ly/3PtAz7N.
• How can we help Polish patients with bronchial asthma? www.bit.ly/3sNdKlN.
• Is e-Prescription 2.0. will improve the effectiveness of treatment? www.bit.ly/3Mtwjm3.
• What should the treatment pathway for patients with asthma be? www.bit.ly/3tsaZGS.
• Asthma management manual www.bit.ly/3HaiEPM.

The latest SABINA study – conducted among people in Europe and North America – found that approximately 40% of asthma patients were abusing SABA reliever inhalers (use of three or more per year)! The effect was a 32% increase in the risk of severe asthma exacerbations compared with patients receiving one or two inhalers per year. The new data support GINA’s recommendation not to use SABA inhalers as the preferred reliever.

The results of the SABINA study were published in JACI: In Practice