To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Employer-Sponsored Project Finds Compliance with Asthma Treatment Guidelines URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/5DE2.htm Doctor's Guide October 9, 1995
BLOOMINGTON, Minn., Oct. 9, 1995 -- Complying with international asthma treatment guidelines significantly reduces the symptoms that severe asthma patients experience, according to a mid-term report of a three-year project to improve asthma care in managed care organizations (MCOs). The Managed Health Care Association Outcomes Management System Consortium asthma project is sponsored by the MHCA, a group of large employers which use managed care. The project is being conducted by the MCOs and The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, and coordinated by the Health Outcomes Institute. No study to date has looked at the impact of the international asthma treatment guidelines, although the guidelines were produced nearly four years ago. The MHCA consortium's asthma project is a model for future outcomes studies. Twelve major employers and 15 MCOs participate. "This project shows what can occur when major purchasers use the power of the marketplace to create positive changes in health care quality," says Alan Peres, chairman of the MHCA and manager of benefit planning at Ameritech. "These results clearly show the value of patient-derived information to drive efforts to improve health care. We see early indications that care has been improved and expect to see demonstrable improvement in the third and final reporting period." Additional findings indicate that severe asthmatics who receive care from specialists are managed better and have fewer work days lost than patients who receive care from primary care physicians. In the baseline survey one year ago, 32 percent of severe asthmatics reported canceling or rearranging an activity during the month preceding the survey because of asthma and 50 percent had missed work, school, or usual activity because of their health. "This project is a prime example of the patient-centered outcomes measures that we think are relevant to employers and consumers," says Dwight N. McNeill, health information manager, GTE Service Corporation and co-chairman of the Foundation for Accountability (FAcct), a new collaboration of public and private purchasers and consumers. FAcct's purpose is to provide information about the quality of health care to purchasers and consumers. McNeill adds, "The MHCA asthma project demonstrates that outcomes studies can be done and have value." The participating MCOs use a simple patient survey that measures patient-reported health status and satisfaction to gauge the patients' perception of how well their care is being managed. patients' physicians are also surveyed to compare their medical evaluation with the patients' perceptions. Four criteria define conformity with treatment guidelines for severe asthmatics in this project. Patients must have a steroid inhaler, a peak flow meter, a long-acting bronchodilator, and report knowing how to either avoid the causes of an attack, adjust medications, or manage a severe attack. "We're finding that asthma can be treated well if the treatment guidelines are followed and this project helps us identify opportunities to improve our program," says William P. Glasheen, Ph.D., director of health care assessment, Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield (Richmond, Va.). "The key is to improve physician familiarity with the guidelines and then give patients the tools and knowledge to treat themselves, which helps them become happier, more productive people." Severe asthmatics who were treated by specialists said they missed fewer days of work, were happier with their treatment overall, and felt better able to cope with symptoms. "There was also a trend toward increased work days lost for patients who changed from seeing a primary care physician with specialty consultation to seeing only a primary care physician," says Albert W. Wu, M.D., M.P.H., of The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. "We look forward to seeing the results of the two-year follow-up." Few changes in MCO performance were found between the initial baseline survey and the one-year follow-up because the MCOs received the results of the baseline survey at the time the one-year follow-up was being conducted. Participating MCOs are expected to implement programs to improve their asthma treatment performance by the time of the two-year follow-up in late 1995 and early 1996. The two-year findings will be released in mid-1996. The MHCA Consortium will address coronary artery disease later this year. Participating organizations include: Employers Ameritech Becton Dickinson and Company Commonwealth of Virginia Digital Equipment Corporation GTE Service Corporation Health Trust, Inc. James River Corporation Marriott International, Inc. Martin Lockheed Corporation Proctor & Gamble Promus Companies Xerox Corporation Managed Care Organizations Aetna Life Insurance Company Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri (St. Louis) Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rochester (New York) Community Mutual Insurance Company Fallon Community Health Plan Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Intermountain Health Care Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio Matthew Thornton Health Plan Metra Health The Prudential Health Care System Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield (Virginia) U.S.Q.A. (U.S. Healthcare) CONTACT: Stephen L. Davidow of Health Outcomes Institute, 312-868-1428 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. 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