Severe Asthma Global Evaluation (SAGE): An Electronic Platform for Severe Asthma

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Digital Health
• Clinical Informatics

Background:

• Severe asthma management is complex and heterogeneous, with suboptimal outcomes from ad hoc outpatient assessments.
• Systematic evaluation is recommended by international guidelines for improving severe asthma care.
• Electronic templates can enhance physician performance and clinical processes in specialized evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Severe Asthma Global Evaluation (SAGE) electronic platform for streamlining severe asthma systematic evaluation.
• To integrate patient questionnaires, clinical modules, and data reporting into a single, efficient system.
• To ensure compatibility with international severe asthma registries for research collaboration.

Main Methods:

• Development of the SAGE electronic platform using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap).
• Incorporation of pre-consultation patient questionnaires, asthma/comorbidity modules, and a clinical summary.
• Inclusion of nurse educator and panel discussion modules, with automated report generation.

Main Results:

• SAGE streamlines severe asthma evaluation, incorporating 282 clinician fields with an average completion of 169 fields per consultation.
• The platform features 34 autocalculations and 20 decision support tools to enhance efficiency.
• SAGE is compatible with the International Severe Asthma Registry, including all 95 core variables.

Conclusions:

• The developed SAGE electronic platform facilitates comprehensive yet streamlined systematic evaluation of severe asthma.
• SAGE use improves symptom control and reduces exacerbations in patients with difficult asthma.
• The platform is freely available, enhancing severe asthma management, audit, and international research collaboration.