Asthma QI in North Carolina

This quality improvement project in asthma that included health professional education, patient education and free medication did not appear to lessen the rate of return visits for asthma-related symptoms at 30 and 60 days. However, it did describe the rural population of people with asthma and their informal relationship with asthma care.

"In North Carolina, nearly one-fourth of persons with asthma visit an emergency department (ED) or urgent care center at least once a year because of an exacerbation of asthma symptoms. ... Many patients who use the ED for care appear to have mild, intermittent asthma and do not identify a regular source of primary care. Efforts to improve asthma care on a communitywide basis and to reduce preventable exacerbations should include care provided in EDs, as this may be the only source of asthma care for many asthma patients. The project demonstrated that regional, collaborative performance improvement efforts in EDs are possible but that many barriers exist to this approach." [1]

1.

Crane S, Sailer D, Patch SC. Improving asthma care in emergency departments: results of a multihospital collaborative quality initiative in rural western North Carolina. N C Med J 2011 Apr;72(2):111-117.[cited 2011 Jul 25] Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21721495