| Guide to Improving Asthma Care in Oregon |
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| Purpose of the Guide |
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This guide has been developed to steer efforts to improve the medical management of asthma and to define appropriate indicators for monitoring the quality of medical care provided to Oregonians with asthma.
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| How the Guide Can be Used |
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- The guide is intended for use by health systems that provide care to defined populations.
- By combining recommended procedures with population-based indicators of success in delivering those procedures, the stage is set to support continuous monitoring and improvement of specific processes of care.
- Clinics, health systems, or health plans which have a continuous process to identify the population of members who have asthma and provide support tools and feedback to medical practitioners in a timely manner will be most successful in improving the quality of care described in the guide.
- Quality improvement projects that use this document will be consistent and reinforce those of other organizations.
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| What The Guide Does |
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- Establishes eight priority areas for improving asthma care.
- Defines common measures to track success in improving asthma care.
- Provides a standard of asthma care for health systems, health plans and quality improvement organizations.
- Complements the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma.
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| How the Guide was Developed |
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The Guide was developed through a consensus process and the following partners have endorsed this coordinated approach to improving asthma care in Oregon.
- American Lung Association of Oregon
- Care Medical Equipment Incorporated
- CareOregon
- Central Oregon Independent Health Services
- Clear Choice Health Plans
- Coos County Health Department
- Department of Human Services Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Section
- Department of Human Services Office of Medical Assistance Programs
- FamilyCare, Inc.
- Kaiser Permanente NW
- Lane Individual Practice Association
- Lincoln County Health Department
- Marion Polk Community Health Plan
- Medical Directors Workgroup Department of Human Services Office of Medical Assistance Programs
- ODS Companies
- Oregon Asthma Network
- Oregon Health Sciences University
- Oregon Medical Association
- Oregon Society of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
- Oregon Society of Health-System Pharmacists
- Oregon Thoracic Society
- Providence Health Plans
- Samaritan InterCommunity Health Network
- Tuality Health Alliance
- Yamhill County Health Departme
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| Oregon asthma experts are concerned: |
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- Approximately 1/3 of people with persistent asthma over-used their rescue medication in a year (more than 6 beta2-agonist prescriptions per year) 1
- Approximately 1/3 of people with persistent asthma did not fill even one prescription for a controller medication in a year 1
- Eleven percent of people with persistent asthma had one or more emergency department visits in a year 1
- Less than half of asthma patients with an emergency department visit received follow-up care from a health care provider within 30 days 1
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| Call to Action - We can all do better |
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- Ensure your patients with persistent asthma are filling and taking their prescription inhaled anti-inflammatory (controller) medication
- Ensure a follow-up office visit within 30 days for your patients treated for asthma in the emergency department
- Ask your patients with asthma about tobacco use and exposure at every visit
- For patients and care givers who smoke, offer cessation support and provide them with Quit Line information (877-270-STOP)
1. These 2002 data are reported in the Oregon Asthma Leadership Plan and are derived from Oregon health plan data.This population includes insured Oregonians between the ages of 4-55 who have persistent asthma.
2. These 2001 data are reported in A View of Asthma in Oregon,Volume 2, Issue 1, and are derived from BRFSS.This population includes Oregon adults ages 18 to 55. Printed March, 2004 Updates the NAEPP Expert Panel Report 2 (NIH Publication No 97-4051).
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