Can we measure whether asthma guidelines lead to improved care?

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Clinical Guideline Development
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Previous asthma guidelines from BTS, SIGN, and NICE had key differences, causing confusion and hindering adoption.
• A new joint BTS/SIGN/NICE asthma guidance is forthcoming, offering a chance to evaluate guideline implementation.
• Accurate prescription data is crucial for assessing the uptake of new asthma management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the potential impact of new joint UK asthma guidance on clinical practice.
• To explore the use of prescription data (e.g., OpenPrescribing) as a proxy for guideline adoption.
• To assess the feasibility of linking prescription data to clinical outcomes (e.g., HES) for evaluating new asthma therapies.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing prescription data from platforms like OpenPrescribing to monitor guideline adherence.
• Potentially linking prescription data with Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) to analyze clinical outcomes.
• Focusing on the accurate coding of anti-inflammatory reliever therapy (AIR) and maintenance and reliever therapy (MART) with inhaled corticosteroid/formoterol.

Main Results:

• The study outlines a methodology for assessing guideline adoption and impact.
• It highlights the importance of accurate data capture for novel asthma treatment approaches.
• Prescription data offers a viable surrogate for measuring real-world guideline implementation.

Conclusions:

• Accurate prescription data is essential for evaluating the adoption and impact of new UK asthma guidance, particularly for AIR and MART therapies.
• This approach can identify barriers to guideline uptake and inform targeted interventions.
• Improving guideline adoption is key to enhancing asthma care based on current evidence.