Assessment of asthma management in adult patients: A retrospective case-note review in a general practice

Abstract

This study aimed to assessasthma management in a sample of adult patients in general practice. A retrospective case-note review was conducted,involving 27 asthma patients in general practice inEngland. The Asthma Quality Improvement tool informed the development of thedata collection tool. The data were analysed statistically by theresearcher using frequencies testing, using descriptive statistics.Twenty-one participants out of 27 were reviewed in the general practice in the last12-months by their healthcare practitioner. All the components of an asthmareview were assessed and recorded except the inhaler technique for 11participants and 66.7% were classed as having poorly-controlled asthma symptoms.Although the small sample size affected the generalisability ofthe findings, reviewing the medical records of each participant allowed theresearcher to highlight issues with asthma management in the sample. This studyfound that asthma care in the participants requires improvement and highlightedareas that could be targeted to enhance asthma care. Asthma care could beenhanced by focusing on increasing asthma patients’ engagement with their annualasthma reviews, enhancing the provision of the asthma action plan and followinga consistent approach for inhaler-technique check and recording of asthmareview components. Finally, conducting multiple checks of asthma patients’medical records might help to identify patients who need a review and supportthem to enhance their management of their asthma.