Reimagining Respiration: The Quest for Better Asthma Care
Asthma affects 24 million Americans. Half of them live with uncontrolled symptoms. In this episode, Tonya Winders, President and CEO of the Global Allergy and Airways Patient Platform, joins us to explore why accurate diagnosis remains elusive, and what high-quality, patient-centered asthma care requires.
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About The Guest
Tonya Winders, MBA, is President & CEO of GAAPP, the Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform with more than 170 patient organizations in respiratory and immunology.
Tonya has more than twenty-five years experience in the field advocating for her own family & millions of others living with asthma, COPD and atopic diseases.
She is co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications & is the patient advocate on expert panels for WHO, GINA & EAACI guidelines.
Episode Description
In this episode of Quality Matters, Tonya Winders, President and CEO of the Global Allergy and Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP), joins host Andy Reynolds to unpack the diagnosis and care gaps that plague asthma treatment—from delayed access to spirometry, to underuse of biologics. Tonya explains what high-quality, patient-centered asthma care requires, and what health care leaders can do to close that gap.
Tonya also discusses:
- Why a definitive diagnosis of asthma isn’t necessarily the norm.
- What the “three-legged stool” of asthma care looks like.
- Why patient-centricity is essential for chronic disease management.
- How new treatments like biologics are changing what’s possible in asthma treatment.
This podcast is a must-listen for anyone working to redesign care delivery and improve outcomes for patients with chronic respiratory illness.
This is something that, I have to tell you, I never dreamt would come in my career. So, it’s very exciting, especially for those that have had the opportunity to access these miracle drugs—that’s the term they use, miracle drugs—that have changed their lives and given them the freedom to breathe.
Timestamps
(04:00) Diagnostic Delays: Spirometry and Systemic Barriers
(05:44) How Age and Comorbidities Obscure Asthma
(08:00) Challenges of Misdiagnosis and Access to Specialists
(10:28) The Three Legs of Effective Asthma Care
(18:20) NCQA’s Measurement Strategy for Asthma