ABS28: Towards Excellence in Asthma Management (TEAM): final report of a 5-year program aimed at reducing care gaps in asthma management

Abstract

Many care gaps persist in asthma care. TEAM is a multi-partnership and multidisciplinary disease management program developed to optimize asthma care. In the last 5 years, (A) Two populational “cartographies” of asthma helped identify regional variations in asthma-related morbidity, (B) Current delivery of asthma care has been evaluated in a cohort of physicians and patients, and (C) Two series of peer-reviewed outcome research studies targeting high-risk populations and specific asthma care gaps have been conducted. The cartographies allowed TEAM to identify regions to prioritise in regard to specific interventions. The cohort study contributed to identify specific care gaps such such as insufficient referral for education and poor management of asthma exacerbations. Key-observations resulting from the studies performed included: (1) Four specific patterns of compliance to inhaled asthma medication, (2) The limited influence of an increased access to spirometry in Asthma Education Centers on referral for education, (3) The transient improvement in abilities to adequately inform the public, for nurses involved with an asthma hot-line service, (4) The beneficial effects of practice aids aimed at facilitating asthma management by general practitioners. Each study provided new interventions to apply to current care and new avenues for further research on optimal asthma management. In conclusion, TEAM has provided a large amount of data that should help to define optimal strategies for improving asthma care. Conflict of interest and funding This work was performed under the auspices of the Quebec Asthma and COPD Network, in collaboration with the “Fond de la recherche en sant´e du Quebec”, with the support of a Grant from Merck Frosst Canada and AstraZeneca Canada.