ASCIA Update 7 August 2024

New ASCIA Clinical Care Standard – inborn errors of immunity

A new ASCIA Clinical Care Standard for Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI)/ Primary Immunodeficiencies (PID) has been developed as part of the ASCIA Immunodeficiency Strategy for Australia and New Zealand, in consultation with relevant patient/carer support organisations. The main purpose of the Clinical Care Standard is to assist in benchmarking, advocating for optimal services and treatment, and to guide resource development and updates. Read more here

Other recent ASCIA immunodeficiency and autoimmunity updates 

• New ASCIA Sjögren’s Disease FAQ for patients and carers

• New Activity Based Funding for subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) therapy

• New treatment for severe lupus listed on PBS 1 July 2024

• New Australian hereditary angioedema (HAE) publication

Recent ASCIA anaphylaxis and allergy updates

• New ASCIA Management Summary for Young Adults with allergies to transition from paediatric to adult medical care - developed for health professionals to complete to support continuity of care.

• ASCIA Anaphylaxis Checklist for Young Adults with allergies to transition from paediatric to adult care - updated to include a link to 250K for young adults and make it easier to read.

• ASCIA Anaphylaxis Facts for Parents and Carers – updated to include current information and make it easier to read.

• New peanut allergy treatment program for babies in Australia - ten paediatric hospitals across five states have introduced a global first nation-wide peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) program.

• ASCIA application for MBS item for supervised oral food challenges - ASCIA has lodged an application for an MBS item number to improve access to supervised oral food challenges.

• ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training reports - For the first time since ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training was introduced in 2010, reports have been developed based on mandatory feedback surveys. 

• ASCIA Guidelines - Adrenaline (Epinephrine) Injector Prescription and ASCIA Guidelines - Acute Management of Anaphylaxis - updated to include EpiPen® Jr, EpiPen® and Anapen® 500 devices.

• Request for initial adrenaline injector to be provided on PBS Authority prescription by clinical immunology/allergy specialist - updated to make the form easier to find on the ASCIA website.

• ASCIA Adverse Reactions to Complementary and Alternative Medicine FAQ - updated to include information about allergic reactions to Andrographis paniculata.

• ASCIA Guide for Milk Substitutes in Cow’s Milk Allergy - updated due to Alfaré^® extensively hydrolysed formula being discontinued in Australia and removed from the PBS from 1 August 2024.

Other recent ASCIA website updates

• ASCIA Annual General Meeting notice – Adelaide Convention Centre, 5 September 2024

• ASCIA Heads of Allergy/Immunology Department meeting – held on 2-3 August 2024

• TGA consultation on reforms to therapeutic goods regulations – closes 18 August 2024

• ASCIA Quicklinks - developed to improve access to ASCIA website information using QR codes

• ASCIA Code of Conduct – updated in June 2024 to comply with new legislation

Registration is still open for the ASCIA 2024 Conference

It is not too late to register to attend the ASCIA 2024 Conference in-person at the Adelaide Convention Centre or online. More than 60 speakers will present the latest updates on food, drug, insect and respiratory allergy, immunodeficiency and autoimmunity. The program also includes allergy updates for nurses, dietitians and medical practitioners.

To register go to https://ascia2024.com/registration

 Regularly updated ASCIA webpages

The following ASCIA webpages are regularly updated:

ASCIA Reports

Locate a Specialist

ASCIA Submissions

Allergy/Immunology Positions

Medical Product Supply Updates

Allergy and Immunology Research

Conference, Meetings and Events Calendar 
 

ASCIA gratefully acknowledges the generous support of all sponsors listed on the ASCIA website www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/sponsors