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

OBJECTIVE: 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. DESIGN: 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. SETTING: A university-affiliated urban teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 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. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: The comprehensive asthma management program reduced the number of ED visits for acute exacerbations of asthma.