Disease management program improves asthma outcomes

Abstract

Objective: To show that a disease management program that empowers patients with asthma to participate in the management of their condition can improve quality of life and reduce the use of medical services.

Study design: Utilization and quality-of-life data were tracked to identify outcome changes in patients with moderate to severe asthma. Baseline measures were used as a control and were compared with measures taken at 6 and 12 months after enrollment.

Patients and methods: Study participants were from a single Medicaid managed care plan in western Pennsylvania. Patients' quality of life during their participation in the program was tracked through an outside pharmacoepidemiologic research firm. Utilization data were updated with every interaction between a patient and case management nurse.

Results: Both quality-of-life and utilization data show statistically significant improvements at 6 months. Further, 12-month data show improvement that is statistically significant in all measures with the exception of the adult quality-of-life measure, where a small sample size limited the statistical results.

Conclusions: A collaborative, proactive approach to asthma management improves patients' quality of life and reduces use of costly medical services.