Chronotherapy involves altering the timing of medication administration in synchrony with the body's circadian rhythms for the purpose of improving clinical outcomes and/or minimising adverse effects of medications. In order to achieve this, clinicians need to have a basic understanding of drug disposition and how the circadian clock affects this, as well as circadian physiology.

Evidence around circadian principles on timing in medication administration in alignment with the body clock is not widely disseminated; thus, opportunities in cases where medications may be used more effectively by using the principles of chronotherapy may be missed in clinical practice.

After attending delegates will:

• Understand the key terms used in the field of chronotherapy
• Demonstrate an understanding of different aspects of chronotherapy in terms of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, formulations and clinical effectiveness
• Appreciate the level of clinical evidence supporting chronotherapy
• Compare the limitations and benefits of chronotherapy applications in clinical practice
• Demonstrate skills in applying the principles of chronotherapy to optimise drug regimens

This hour and a half webinar includes presentations from Professor Bandana Saini and Associate Professor Craig Phillips with a discussion on four cases where chronotherapy may be applicable. Time will be allocated at the end of the webinar for questions. 

Who would benefit from attending this webinar?

Community pharmacists, AACP (accredited pharmacists), hospital pharmacists, GPs, practice nurses, community nurses and sleep researchers. 

SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP OFFER: As a special promotion for this webinar only, if you register to attend this webinar and also renew your membership or join the ASA, you will receive 5% off the cost of your membership. Upon confirmation of your registration, you will receive a special one off code to use to access this 5% discount.

Speakers

Professor Bandana Saini: University of Sydney and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research
Professor Bandana Saini is a recent NHMRC TRIP Fellow and current Research Leader at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research. As an academic and practising pharmacist, her expertise lies in the implementation of clinical practice models focused on respiratory and sleep health within Australian primary care. She has led and collaborated in implementing and evaluating several successful community pharmacy-based service trials in projects involving: screening/case detection (sleep disorders, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis (Cambodia), patient self-management support (allergic rhinitis, sleep disorders, asthma), clinical audits (insomnia medications, insomnia related practice, smoking cessation) as well as pharmacovigilance (insomnia medications), pharmacy education (problem based learning, peer assessment) as well as community health education program research (asthma, smoking cessation in high schools). Her skills include trial design and implementation, stakeholder engagement, pedagogical inquiry and qualitative methodologies. Her research has been implemented in pharmacy settings overseas (Indonesia), and her research provides a link between public health and health economic concepts, as well as clinical aspects of community pharmacy roles in chronic respiratory/sleep disorders. She has led the development and testing of an educational workshop for pharmacists/pharmacy students on chronotherapy.

Associate Professor Craig Phillips: University of Sydney and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research
Associate Professor Craig Phillips (University of Sydney - Faculty of Medicine and Health) is an NHMRC Research Fellow and Research Leader at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research. A/Prof Phillips' internationally-recognised clinical research has focused on unveiling mechanisms that link obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) to cardiometabolic disease and testing responses to treatment. This work includes randomised controlled trials (RCT's), as well as experimental studies. The impact and relevance extend beyond the sleep field to cardiology, obesity and endocrinology. His clinical trials have examined cardiometabolic outcomes including blood pressure  control (including chronotherapy), post-prandial lipidemia, insulin sensitivity and weight loss. Additional work includes examining how molecular clocks are altered in conditions of disturbed sleep (i.e. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and how neurovascular dysfunction in sleep apnoea impacts on neurobehavioural and cognitive function. 

This webinar is free for ASA members and open to non-members for a registration fee of $45. To register you will need to log in with your member details, or create an account on this website if you're not a member.

The webinar will be recorded and made available online afterwards - free to ASA members and for a small fee to others. By registering to attend, you are giving your permission to be recorded.

Please note:

• You will need to finalise your registration through the shopping cart, even if you are registering for free
• Registrations closes three hours before (12:00pm AEST) the webinar starts and you will not be able to register after that
• We will email you the webinar access details in the lead up to the webinar and again on the day of the webinar

Enquiries about this webinar should be directed to Kara Nicholson.

Date: Thursday, 27 May 2021

Time: 3:00pm - NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT and TAS
           2:30pm - SA and NT
           1:00pm - WA
           5:00pm - NZ