Economic analysis of a self-management asthma plan: is it really effective if further assessed?

Abstract

Bronchial asthma is a disease with an increasing socioeconomic burden worldwide. New strategies are currently trying to reduce the burden by the means of implementing cost-effective management guidelines. The most commonly used is the so-called guided self management plan, so that patients are taught to adjust their treatment according to changes in the severity of their disease and the existing therapeutic guidelines. Such plans proved their effectiveness in reducing asthma-related morbidity, but little is known about the real costs of implementing them. The study authored by Schermer TR and colleagues comparatively assessed the cost-effectiveness of a self-management asthma plan versus usual care applied at primary care for a period of 2 years and found that the former added more successfully treated weeks and quality-adjusted life years than the latter.