Oral

Asthma is the most common chronic condition of childhood and in many communities the leading cause of pediatric emergency department utilization. Asthma prevalence in low-income communities is much higher than reflected in federal survey data. Overall Medicaid expenditures for asthma care exceed $500 million per year. Nonetheless, there are low¬-income and other medically underserved populations that do not receive adequate asthma care including the prescription medications they require to keep their asthma symptoms under control. This session will begin with an overview of these issues, and focus on ways to enhance the quality of asthma care for vulnerable populations and reduce health disparities. One approach is to provide enabling services, which are non-clinical support services that improve access to health care and appropriate use of health services (e.g., benefits counseling and case management). We will also discuss economic and geographic barriers to health care access that complicate care for chronic conditions such as asthma and lead to increased use of hospital emergency department services. The session will also discuss an analysis of savings attributable to interventions that reduce preventable ED use.

Session Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be better able to: Discuss national trends in asthma services and drug for the Medicaid population Understand health impact of enabling service utilization at community health centers on medically underserved patients Associate the cost reduction with improved quality of life for the patients enrolled in the program

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing