Given the extraordinarily high prevalence of asthma on Chicago’s south and west sides, Advocate Health Care, the largest non-profit faith-based integrated delivery system in the metropolitan area, implemented a quality improvement project to examine the impact of targeted asthma patient and professional education interventions across multiple sites of care. Outcomes included utilization of medical care, patient self-report of self-management activities, and chart documentation of treatment and counseling provided. Baseline claims data showed that managed care members with asthma were up to 4.5 times as likely as non-asthmatics to have a hospital admission in the last year and up to 8.5 times as likely to have an emergency department visit. While the majority of respondents indicated that their asthma was well controlled, many neither had an asthma treatment plan nor used a peak flow meter regularly. An audit of 555 charts showed that documentation of peak flow meter use, Asthma Action Plan and asthma education was lacking in a substantial number of cases. Each of the program sites hired an asthma specialist, implemented training for physicians and clinical staff regarding the national asthma self-management guidelines, and utilized data from patient questionnaires to guide the development of individual asthma care plans. Examination of data post intervention documents the impact of these asthma interventions and clarifies the challenges of providing asthma care in a large health system to high risk populations.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: 1) describe the patient and professional education components of the "Improving Asthma Care" program; 2) compare baseline and follow-up utilization, patient self-report and chart review data; and 3) identify implications for quality improvement.
Keywords: Asthma, Quality Improvement
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am employed by Advocate Health Care.