The Alpha-1 Association has teamed up with the Alpha-1 Foundation to increase our outreach to members of the COPD community during our National Targeted Detection Program. The goal of the program is simple: get people who are at risk for COPD tested for Alpha-1.
In 2003, new standards from the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society called for testing of Alpha-1 in all adults with COPD, symptomatic emphysema, or asthma with airflow obstruction that can't be completely reversed using standard treatment. It's also recommended for individuals with unexplained liver disease, asymptomatic individuals with persistent obstruction on pulmonary tests with identifiable risk factors (for example, smoking, environmental exposures in the workplace, etc), adults with necrotizing panniculitis and siblings of an individual with Alpha-1.
We are asking volunteers from the Alpha-1 Association to:
- Visit your healthcare providers
- Explain the program to the doctor, RT, infusion nurse, or other interested person
- Drop off literature (contact us to get literature at 1-800-521-3025)
- Let us know who you contacted by simply emailing a list with the information on it to Genevieve Paul at gpaul@alpha1.org.
Our goal is to reach a maximum of healthcare providers and establish a relationship with them prior to moving on to the next phase which will be outreach to general practitioners.
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