Welcome to the eAMS learning activity! This is a CFP Mainpro+ accredited self-learning activity (3 credits per hour, maximum 72 credits per year). Please read through the description and instructions on the following pages to see how you can apply.
The eAMS learning activity is designed to provide family doctors with knowledge of asthma guidelines and best practice principles for management of patients with asthma.
When developing the eAMS learning activity, we reflected on major care gaps in asthma management and barriers faced by providers in terms of achieving guideline-recommended care. Common care gaps identified in the literature include inadequate assessment of asthma control, insufficient initiation or escalation of asthma controller therapy, and a lack of provision of personalized asthma action plans (AAPs). The eAMS seeks to address these gaps by aiding physicians in evaluating asthma control through patient questionnaires, generating recommendations based on current asthma guidelines, and creating AAPs using the gathered information, based on an evidence-based patient-friendly template.
The learning activity enables participants to further develop in two CanMEDS-FM competency domains:
Recommendations in the eAMS are derived from the Canadian Thoracic Society guidelines on asthma diagnosis and management (Yang, et al., CJRCCSM 2021), which are based on a formal literature review with meta-analysis of current evidence.
eAMS Contributors (people who are responsible for the development of the content and implementation of the eAMS):
Dr. Samir Gupta (respirologist, clinician-scientist, Past Chair of the Canadian Thoracic Society Canadian Respiratory Guideline Committee)
Dr. Itamar Tamari (primary care physician)
Dr. Renu Gupta (primary care physician)
Dr. Arun Radhakrishnan (primary care physician)
Relevant relationships with commercial entities and potential for conflicts of interest:
None of the contributors have worked with pharmaceutical partners.
Drs. Tamari, Radhakrishnan, and S. Gupta have all worked with granting agencies/not-for-profit groups to advance asthma care and as part of other educational programs in asthma, that do not pose any conflict of interest with this program. Dr. S. Gupta does research in asthma which may raise concerns about academic conflict of interest. Also, Dr. S. Gupta has shares in a private entity that owns the IP for the actual eAMS tool, though this has no influence on the program content or content within the eAMS tool.
Steps taken to review and mitigate potential bias:
Information in the eAMS is derived from the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) Asthma guideline and other peer-reviewed literature, with involvement and representation from the CTS Asthma Guideline Assembly. Funding for development has been exclusively through public and not-for-profit sources, with no pharmaceutical industry involvement. Also, each element of the eAMS has been tested and proven scientifically, with corresponding publications. In addition, the eAMS has been endorsed as a “Non-Industry supported, Validated Tool” for guideline implementation, by the guideline-producing society itself (the CTS).