A team-based approach to providing asthma action plans

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Medicine
• Respiratory Health Management
• Clinical Quality Improvement

Background:

• National asthma guidelines recommend written asthma action plans (AAPs) for improved patient self-management.
• Despite recommendations, practical implementation and completion rates of AAPs remain a challenge in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the completion rates of asthma action plans (AAPs) in a primary care setting.
• To evaluate a novel team-based care delivery model for asthma management.

Main Methods:

• A team-based care approach was implemented in primary care, integrating an electronic clinical quality management system.
• Registered nurses were central to providing written asthma action plans (AAPs) to patients.
• Clinical reminders were utilized within the electronic system to prompt AAP provision.

Main Results:

• The implementation of clinical reminders and nurse-led AAP provision led to a measurable increase in the percentage of patients with AAPs.
• The team-based model demonstrated success in improving adherence to guideline recommendations.

Conclusions:

• Effective training, utilization of electronic clinical reminder systems, and active engagement of registered nurses are key factors in improving AAP completion rates.
• A team-based primary care setting can successfully enhance the delivery and uptake of asthma action plans.