This webinar will explore the best strategies for managing COPD and offer practical steps to enhance the quality of care for patients.
We’ll also take a closer look at the Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality and Safety Commission’s Atlas of Healthcare Variation, which was introduced in 2012 to highlight differences in health conditions across regions and demographics. A new domain focusing on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) was published in December 2024, shedding light on variations in COPD prevalence, admission rates, and medication use across different districts and population groups.
Key findings include:
- Approximately 4 in 10 patients hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COPD did not receive regular triple therapy in the year following admission, despite it being recommended to reduce exacerbations and improve airway function. It’s important to note, though, that not all COPD patients qualify for triple therapy.
- One-third of COPD patients who were prescribed two or more courses of prednisone did not regularly receive triple therapy in the next 12 months. Frequent prednisone use without proper COPD management can be a sign of poorly controlled disease.
- People with COPD are fully funded for influenza vaccines, providing an important preventive measure.
We will look at these indicators and discuss how we can improve care for COPD patients in a meaningful way.
As always, we will answer as many questions as possible during this session.
Presenter
Jo Scott-Jones
Dr. Jo Scott-Jones is a consultant GP and the Clinical Director at Pinnacle, where he leads initiatives to enhance community health and well-being. With a focus on equity and population health, Jo has spearheaded projects aimed at improving healthcare delivery and outcomes. He has been instrumental in developing "clinical dashboards" that share useful information about populations with clinical teams.
Jo is also an distinguished Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, an Hon Associate Professor at Te Huataki Waiora School of Health, Waikato University, and a Fellow of the World Organisation of Family Doctors (Wonca). His work includes significant contributions to the NZREX Primary Care Pathway Pilot, which evaluated and supported international medical graduates in New Zealand through their pre-vocational years based in general practice.
In addition to his clinical and academic roles, Dr. Scott-Jones is actively involved in various healthcare projects, including the hosting of Rural WONCA 2026 international conference in New Zealand. He is a passionate advocate for general practice and primary care and has been a key figure in rural health advocacy, he is currently co-lead of the National Rural Health Clinical Network.
Jo is a regular contributor to New Zealand Doctor and the New Zealand General Practice podcast and is committed to advancing primary care through advocacy, education and activism.
Presenter
Bob Hancox
Bob is a Research Professor at the University of Otago and Respiratory Physician at Waikato Hospital in New Zealand. His research interests include the epidemiology and clinical management of airways disease with a focus on the adverse effects of beta-agonists on the airways. He is also the lead investigator for respiratory health on the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a birth cohort that has been running for 53 years. The Dunedin cohort provides the world’s most complete dataset on respiratory health from childhood into middle-age and is used to investigate the developmental origins, environmental exposures, and life-course trajectories of lung disease.
Bob is currently the medical director of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand and a member of the Foundation’s Asthma and COPD guidelines working groups.
Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from:
