The Article in Brief

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an asthma care program that involved collaboration between health care organizations around the United States. The program was designed to improve processes for delivering care to asthma patients.
What This Study Found: A national collaborative asthma care program can significantly improve processes of care. Participating patients are more likely than other patients to attend educational sessions and are more satisfied with communications with their clinicians. They also use more written action plans, goal-setting, peak flow monitoring, and long-term controller medications. There was not an improvement in patients’ quality of life or a decrease in hospitalizations for asthma.
Implications:
* Other research has shown that improving care processes, attending educational sessions, goal-setting, and peak flow monitoring can improve the health of asthma patients