Ongoing GP care · Established asthma
Ongoing asthma care
Asthma care includes how you sleep, move and feel between flare-ups. A review can help you understand changes, discuss your current treatment and plan the next steps.
Can a HerDoc GP help with ongoing asthma care?
Yes. A HerDoc GP can review established asthma, discuss current treatment and your written action plan, and recommend follow-up or referrals when needed. HerDoc consultations are by phone, so examination, lung testing and observing inhaler technique need local care. An acute asthma attack needs immediate action, not a routine online appointment.
Last updated 8 September 2026
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When is an asthma review useful?
A routine review is useful even when asthma feels settled. It checks whether your current care supports sleep and everyday activities, and whether you know what to do if symptoms change. You can also discuss questions after a treatment change or care from another service.
Night waking, avoiding exercise or needing your reliever more often can mean your asthma needs closer review. You can discuss these changes without knowing what is causing them. If symptoms are worsening now, use the same-day or emergency advice below.
Control includes both current symptoms and the chance of another flare-up. Feeling well today does not remove the importance of previous serious attacks. Mention hospital visits and any history of intensive care.
What information helps the appointment?
Have your inhalers, other medicines and current written Asthma Action Plan nearby. Useful details include:
- Cough, wheeze, chest tightness or breathlessness: when they occur and how they have changed.
- Night waking or morning symptoms, and effects on walking, exercise, work or other usual activities.
- How often you use your reliever, whether it helps and whether relief lasts as long as usual.
- Your current medicine directions, recent changes, missed treatment, side effects or difficulties using a device.
- Previous flare-ups, urgent appointments or hospital care, and any discharge instructions.
- Suspected triggers, allergies, smoking or vaping exposure, other health conditions and any pregnancy.
- Previous lung-test results and peak-flow readings if these are already part of your care.
Use the records you already have
A short diary can make patterns easier to explain, but is optional. You can upload an image or PDF of an action plan, diary or relevant result during intake. Do not delay care to collect readings or finish a record.
What can the GP review?
A HerDoc GP can review how your current treatment fits your symptoms, previous attacks and daily life. Discussing missed treatment, side effects, cost or difficulty using an inhaler helps the GP understand what is practical for you.
Before recommending a change, the GP considers how medicines are being used, technique concerns, triggers and other possible causes of symptoms. More treatment is not always the answer. Follow your current prescribed plan unless a clinician gives you individual advice.
Inhaler and preventer questions
You can discuss what each medicine is for, concerns about your preventer or reliever, and anything that makes the routine hard to follow. Different inhalers can have different roles; use the instructions in your own plan rather than someone else’s routine.
Technique affects how well an inhaler delivers medicine. A phone consultation cannot watch you use your inhaler or spacer. Take your own device to a local pharmacist, nurse or GP so they can observe your technique and demonstrate any corrections.
Your written Asthma Action Plan
A written plan explains your usual treatment, how to recognise worsening asthma and what action to take. Have it available so the GP can discuss whether it still matches your treatment and whether the instructions make sense to you.
If it is missing, out of date or unclear, raise this at the review. The GP will explain what assessment is needed before preparing or updating a plan. Keep the agreed plan somewhere you can find it quickly.
What can affect asthma symptoms?
Colds, flu and other respiratory infections can trigger flare-ups. Pollen, dust mites, mould or animal allergens can affect some people, while smoke, air pollution, cold air and workplace exposures can also contribute. Triggers differ between people and are not always obvious.
If you notice symptoms at work, in a particular place or during pollen seasons, discuss that pattern. Treating nasal allergies can form part of your care, but does not replace asthma treatment. Plan ahead for your known triggers, including local pollen and thunderstorm advice where relevant.
Smoking, vaping and exposure to other people’s smoke or vapour can worsen asthma. You can discuss practical ways to reduce exposure or support to stop, without needing to have solved this before your appointment. Symptoms have several possible influences; a flare-up is not evidence that you have done something wrong.
When do examination, lung tests or specialist advice help?
New breathing symptoms should not be assumed to be asthma. A local clinician may need to listen to your chest, measure oxygen levels and consider other causes. Significant changes in established asthma can need the same assessment.
Spirometry is a breathing test that measures how much air you can blow out and how quickly. It helps confirm a diagnosis and monitor lung function over time. Your GP can discuss whether it is due or would help answer a current question; it cannot be performed during a phone appointment.
Persistent symptoms, repeated serious flare-ups, uncertainty about the diagnosis or a mismatch between symptoms and test results may need specialist advice. A HerDoc GP can provide a referral after assessment. This does not mean every review requires tests or specialist care.
Follow-up after a flare-up
After an attack improves, arrange medical review preferably the same day or as soon as possible. Follow hospital discharge instructions if you were treated there. If symptoms continue or worsen, use the same-day or emergency advice below. The review can consider what happened, your treatment and action plan, and what local checks are still needed.
For routine ongoing care, agree when to return and what should prompt earlier contact. You can rebook the same HerDoc GP when available or another GP. Later appointments are separately booked and paid.
When should you seek same-day or emergency care?
HerDoc does not assess or manage an acute asthma attack remotely. Start the action in your current Asthma Action Plan when symptoms worsen; do not wait for a phone appointment. A serious attack can occur without wheezing.
Call 000 for an asthma emergency
Call 000 immediately and say it is an asthma emergency if any of these occur:
- Severe breathlessness, rapidly worsening breathing or being unable to speak comfortably in full sentences.
- Your reliever gives little or no help during an attack.
- Blue or grey lips, exhaustion from struggling to breathe, marked drowsiness, confusion or collapse.
- An asthma attack when no reliever is available.
While emergency help is coming
For an asthma attack, sit upright and have someone stay with you if possible. If a severe allergic reaction may be involved, use the allergy instructions below. Follow your current asthma first-aid or action-plan instructions and the emergency operator’s advice. If you do not have a plan or are unsure what to do during an attack, call 000 for help.
If someone is unresponsive and not breathing normally, start CPR and follow the emergency operator’s instructions. Do not wait for an inhaler to work before calling when emergency signs are present.
Could it be a severe allergic reaction?
If someone with asthma and a known food, insect or medicine allergy develops sudden breathing difficulty, treat it as possible anaphylaxis. Do not wait for a rash. Use an available adrenaline device first, following its instructions or the person’s allergy action plan, then call 000. Asthma reliever treatment follows the adrenaline; do not rely on a reliever alone. If no adrenaline device is available, call 000 immediately.
For suspected anaphylaxis, lie flat and do not stand or walk. If breathing is difficult, sit with legs outstretched. If pregnant, lie on the left side. Follow the emergency operator’s instructions.
Seek local care today for worsening symptoms
If breathlessness, wheeze or chest tightness is increasing, relief is not lasting as usual, or symptoms keep returning despite following your plan, arrange same-day local assessment. Repeated night waking with worsening symptoms also needs prompt review. Follow your plan while arranging care; use 000 if emergency signs appear.
Contact a local GP or urgent-care service. If you cannot get timely assessment or your breathing is deteriorating, go to an emergency department. Do not wait for a routine HerDoc booking.
FAQs
Do I need peak-flow readings before an appointment?
No. Share readings if you already collect them as part of your care, along with your symptoms and usual pattern. You do not need to start home testing or delay care to create a record. Peak flow does not replace spirometry or an examination.
Can HerDoc keep my regular GP informed?
Yes. Ask the doctor during your appointment if you want a consultation summary or relevant records sent to your regular GP. The doctor can arrange this to help connect your phone review with local care.
Sources and further reading
These Australian resources explain asthma reviews, triggers and care in more detail.
When to seek urgent care
Call 000 for severe or rapidly worsening breathlessness or difficulty speaking. During an asthma attack, little or no reliever response, blue or grey lips, exhaustion from struggling to breathe, confusion or collapse also need emergency action. Follow the asthma and severe-allergy guidance above.
Want to discuss established asthma when HerDoc launches?
Join the waiting list for updates about HerDoc phone GP appointments. Do not join or wait for HerDoc if breathing symptoms need prompt or emergency care.