From asthma severity to asthma control: identification of new guidelines

Managed care pharmacists utilize clinical guidelines to assist them in identifying acceptable treatment and management of chronic diseases. For the past several months, an expert panel representing the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) has discussed updated asthma guidelines, which could change future medication management of patients with asthma.

To identify new guidelines for asthma control.

Taking control of asthma is a foremost objective in managed care, as new guidelines are debated, and asthma disease management programs identify more effective models of asthma disease management. Within an effective asthma disease management program, managed care practitioners, including but not limited to physicians and pharmacists, must have a thorough understanding of the most recent clinical guidelines as well as current knowledge of the current consensus among opinion leaders regarding asthma treatment and management. This ongoing education is critical in order to allow managed care practitioners to perform their role and function within their organizations. With the advent of changing asthma practice guidelines and processes, managed care practitioners need current information to recognize and apply guidelines-based asthma control.

Appropriate asthma treatment requires adherence to current management guidelines. Approximately one third of asthmatics will not respond to standard asthma treatment and may even worsen while on therapy. Monitoring, close tracking, and regular evaluation of asthma patients at every health care provider visit is a strategy that can be utilized to generate improved asthma control.