February 21, 2025

Partners in Prioritizing Respiratory Care 

Global and Canadian representatives from AstraZeneca were on site at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton on February 19, 2025, for a meeting with clinicians from the world-renowned Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health and Firestone Clinic about a new pilot project. 

A sponsorship grant from AstraZeneca will support the launch of a Lung Health Optimization Project that will operate as a two-year longitudinal clinical observation and analysis. Through the creation of a new Respirology Rapid Assessment Clinic (RRAC), patients who’ve recently experienced a respiratory exacerbation (an acute episode of breathing difficulty) will receive expedited referrals to a respirologist. The referrals can come from clinicians seeing patients in the Emergency Room at the Charlton Campus, at the Urgent Care Centre in Stoney Creek, or in an inpatient unit at the Hospital. Primary care physicians will also be able to refer their patients to the new RRAC. 

“This rapid access clinic is important because we know that upwards of 30 percent of patients who experience an asthma attack or COPD flare up are likely to experience one again within 30 days,” says Dr. Rebecca Amer, Head of Service, Respirology at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. “This often means a repeat visit to the Emergency Room and, depending on the severity of the second attack, admission or re-admission to hospital. This can be stressful on the patient and their family and taxing on the healthcare system, too. The goal of this new pilot project is to move away from treating a respiratory episode as an isolated incident and move towards investigating whether there may be an underlying cause.” 

Through the new Lung Health Optimization Pilot Project, following an asthma attack, COPD exacerbation or other episode of respiratory distress, patients will be referred to a respirologist. At their first visit, the patient will undergo a series of standardized tests that will help to uncover whether they may unknowingly be living with asthma, COPD or Lung Cancer. Once accurately diagnosed, a treatment plan is developed by a respirologist and follow up visits allow for clinicians to assess progress and patient satisfaction. 

 “At AstraZeneca, we are proud to support the world-class Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health in our shared mission to prioritize respiratory care,” says Gaby Bourbara, President, AstraZeneca Canada. “We are excited about the potential of this Canadian-led initiative to create meaningful advances in patient care by reducing hospital re-admissions and easing the burden of respiratory diseases on healthcare systems. Together, we are making strides towards a healthier future for patients.” 

“The Rapid Access Clinic model is one that we know works in other disciplines like internal medicine,” says Rick Badzioch, Vice-President, Renal, Ambulatory and Clinical Support Programs at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. “We’re excited to partner with our colleagues from AstraZeneca to apply this model to respiratory care for the benefit of the patients we serve.”  

One of the benefits of this new model of care is that the lung health surveys and testing mechanisms utilized in it are standardized and widely accessible, meaning the pilot project can be scaled and tested in a wide variety of clinical settings.  

“Not only are we planning to leverage this respirology rapid access clinic referral process in the care we provide within the four walls of our hospital, but we’re already thinking of how we may be able to apply it to the care we provide at offsite and satellite programs and in the vulnerable communities St. Joe’s serves,” says Dr. Helen Neighbour, Respirologist and Deputy Head of Service, Respirology, at St. Joe’s.  

A few goals of the new Lung Health Optimization Project are to improve the accuracy of respiratory diagnoses; reduce hospital admissions and emergency room visits through the management of Asthma and COPD and the definitive identification of lung cancers; improve patient satisfaction and outcomes; and ease the burden of respiratory disease on the healthcare system – here at home in Hamilton and eventually further afield once the two-year project has concluded and findings are shared. The Lung Health Optimization Project launches later this month at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.