Pharmacist-managed, physician-directed asthma management program reduces emergency department visits.

Abstract

To determine whether the number of emergency department (ED) visits for acute asthma exacerbations could be decreased by providing patients with a comprehensive program of asthma management delivered by a pharmacist and a physician. Patients were selected from the ED and asked to attend a special asthma clinic that provided education about asthma and proper use of asthma medications, regular telephone contact between the pharmacist and patient, and an open-door clinic policy. A university-affiliated urban teaching hospital. The study population consisted of 25 asthmatic patients who were at least 18 years of age and who were seen in the ED a minimum of 3 times in a 12-month period. The number of visits to the ED for acute exacerbations of asthma was measured. Patients served as their own controls. The number of ED visits for asthma during the 6-month study period was compared with two 6-month periods prior to the study period for each patient. The total number of ED visits for the 25 enrolled patients six months prior to their enrollment into the study was 92; the number of ED visits during the same months of the study in the prior year was 47. During the study period, there were only 6 ED visits for asthma exacerbations. The comprehensive asthma management program reduced the number of ED visits for acute exacerbations of asthma.