Pediatric Asthma Outcomes After Implementation of a Disease Management Model: The Asthmatter of Fact Program

Abstract

Asthmatter of Fact is a comprehensive pediatric asthma disease management program designed for use in an independent practice association (IPA) model managed care organization (MCO). To improve the quality of care received by children with asthma and to increase adherence to evidence-based guideline recommendations, as manifested by reductions in emergency room and hospital utilization and in activity days missed. The program features intensive home-based patient education; a unique alignment of incentives with primary care and specialist collaboration; and continuous quality improvement (CQI) based on provider and ancillary staff education and performance feedback. The outcomes measures included hospitalizations and emergency room visits, missed activities days, medication usage and patient satisfaction. Measured outcomes after the first year of the program demonstrated major reductions in hospital admissions (63%), emergency room visits (71%), and urgent care costs ($670 annual savings per patient), accompanied by improvements in quality of life and pharmacy profiles and a high level of patient satisfaction. These results suggest that the Asthmatter of Fact Program for pediatric asthma disease management might serve as a useful prototype in other IPA-model MCO settings.