When you or your child has asthma, you want the best care possible so that you can learn how to improve and maintain your quality of life. However, many people who are suffering from asthma find the array of medicines that are prescribed—as well as the devices that deliver the medication—to be confusing and complicated. A Certified Asthma Educator can offer the help and instruction that you or your child may need.
Certified Asthma Educators Improve and Enhance Asthma Patient Care
A Certified Asthma Educator, or AE-C, is an expert in educating those who suffer from asthma. Patients benefit from an AE-C’s expertise for many reasons:
- Not only do AE-Cs have clinical knowledge necessary to evaluate patients, they are skilled at teaching patients the steps that must be taken to control their asthma.
- They can perform and evaluate complex assessments to determine the factors in each patient’s life that must be addressed to provide the best care possible.
- AE-Cs instruct both children and adults how to successfully self-manage their asthma by teaching them to recognize their symptoms and to correctly use their medications and delivery devices.
Teaching Asthma Patients Self-Management Skills
Many of our patients come to our office seeking help to not only learn how to control their asthma, but to also reduce its impact on their day-to-day life. We believe that one of the most important steps that one can take to understand asthma’s short-term and long-term effects is to have a Certified Asthma Educator as a healthcare partner. AE-Cs help asthma patients better understand and manage their symptoms by:
- Instructing them to correctly use inhalers and delivery devices such as spacers. Studies show that as many of 90% of asthma patients are using their inhalers incorrectly, severely reducing the effectiveness of their medication.
- Working with patients to create and implement customized asthma action plans, which include recommendations, careful monitoring, follow-up, and possible changes to the plan as the patient progresses.
- Explaining medical terms, medications, and delivery systems in a language that can be understood by patients. Often, the medical terms and concepts that are a part of proper asthma management can overwhelm patients. Our AE-Cs know that terminology should not be a barrier to good care.
Allergy and Clinical Immunology Associates has several Certified Asthma Educators on staff who can work with you to improve your quality of life through proper care and management of your asthma. Don’t wait—call us today to schedule an appointment. Our goal is for our patients to fully participate in school, work, and activities by following their action plans.