Patient-centered asthma care: a community-based multidisciplinary model

In this first part of a three-part series, the authors discuss a treatment program for patients with chronic, severe asthma. Of all chronic diseases, asthma has proven to be one of the most expensive--financially, physically, and psychologically. Although the symptoms are usually reversible, they can be severe if left untreated. Physicians, nurses, and case managers across the country are recognizing the total value of treatment at "centers of excellence." In referring their toughest asthma cases to these centers, health care professionals and patients alike are experiencing the positive benefits received from a patient-centered, multidisciplinary approach.