New Low-Tech Asthma Management Tool for Clinicians

Multi-colored Simplified Asthma Guideline Reminder¹ (MSAGR) was introduced as a simple and practical asthma management tool for asthma care providers by Stanislaus Ting, MD at Texas Tech Medical Center.  

Download Front, Back

This tool was presented at  the 2001 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, and evaluated by over 500 clinicians.  The tool  was also site tested.

All or parts of the toolkit can be downloaded in PDF format.

Asthma Action Plan

For health care professionals only. Triplicate form, when completed by health care providers, provides parents and school personnel with written asthma management plans for children. Multicolored and illustrated, the form identifies personal best peak flow, levels of symptom severity, and appropriate patient action. Contains Student Medication Administration Authorization; may also be used for all asthma patients.  Developed by the Mass. Health Quality Partners and representatives from 21 Massachusetts health care organizations.  Available in many languages.

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Patient Education and Consumer Activation in Chronic Disease 
(October 2000)

A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report outlining evidence and research demonstrating that people who take an active role in their health experience better health outcomes.

NICHQ Asthma Management Resources in PDF format

Asthma is one of NICHQ’s core areas of expertise. They have worked with practitioners around the country on collaborative learning projects to improve the care of children with asthma. They also aim to expand the reach of their asthma services and tools: to launch new collaboratives; to make tools and materials available on their website; and  develop distance-learning modules for improving asthma care.

Asthma Care for Children: Financing Issues-
A CHCS Chartbook

The Center for Health Care Strategies Chartbook produced as a tool to help health plans, states, and policymakers improve the design and delivery of health care services for children with asthma. The chartbook identifies the population of children with asthma and tracks asthma-related costs in private and publicly financed health care systems. The economic impact of pediatric asthma on families and the health care system is illustrated through data comparing the prevalence, costs, and severity of pediatric asthma in the commercial and public sectors.

The American College of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology Asthma Disease Management Resource Manual

The resource  manual was created to assist health care organizations and individual practitioners in the diagnosis,  assessment and treatment of asthma.  It is downloadable and the ACAAI encourages reproduction for use in the clinical care of asthma patients.

Tools & Resources

• The AHRQ Quality Indicators (QIs) are measures of health care quality that make use of readily available hospital inpatient administrative data. Software and a user guide are now available that will help users apply the Quality Indicators to their own data. They are based on a technical review developed by the UCSF-Stanford Evidence-Based Practice Center.  The Prevention Quality Indicators (QIs) are a set of measures that can be used with hospital inpatient discharge data to identify "ambulatory care-sensitive conditions." These are conditions for which good outpatient care can potentially prevent the need for hospitalization or for which early intervention can prevent complications or more severe disease.
  Download software for Prevention Quality Indicators.

• The Center for Health Care Strategies promotes high quality health care services for low-income populations and people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. We achieve this objective through awarding grants and providing "real world" training and technical assistance to state purchasers of publicly financed health care, health plans, and consumer groups. 

• Quality Management Network Resources
  The Quality Management Network (QMN) advances quality health care for underserved and vulnerable populations by connecting front-line clinicians, clinical networks, administrators, senior leadership and organizations. QMN is the first national quality management forum for safety net for providers, clinicians and management leaders working towards 100% access and 0 health disparities
  
• Clinical Outcome Measures Instruction Manual
• Putting Prevention Into Practice

• Improving Chronic Care Illness   
  Improving Chronic Illness Care, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is dedicated to the idea that United States health care can do better. This web site contains useful chronic care tools and resources for both health care professionals and patients.  The site also contains a Chronic Care Model which summarizes the basic elements for improving care in health systems at the community, organization, practice and patient levels.  

• Teach Your Patients About Asthma:  A Clinician's Guide is a practical and flexible guide designed to help clinicians teach adults and children with asthma and parents of children with asthma about their disease and its management. The guide can be used in a variety of practice is designed for clinicians, respiratory therapists, other health professionals, and health educators. This guide is based on recommendations of the Expert Panel Report: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma developed by the National Asthma Education Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

• National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health
  A Research Center of Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute which contains a comprehensive Asthma Knowledge Path with links to many asthma resources.  It also contains Breathing Easy:  Solutions in Pediatric Asthma by Lauren Raskin, MPH.

• The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program's  How Asthma-Friendly Is Your Child Care Center? checklist to parents and child care staff to determine how well their child care setting accommodates children with asthma. The seven-item checklist in scorecard format can be used to help pinpoint specific areas that may cause problems for children with asthma.  The checklist is available in both English and Spanish

• National Heart Lung & Blood Institute Educational MaterialsOn-Line Catalog (Credit Card Orders Only)
  This NHLBI on-line ordering web site is your gateway to the latest available information for health professionals, teachers, patients, and everyone interested in good health. You may also order products by phone, fax, or mail.  NHLBI offers a variety of high-quality products for a nominal fee. In addition, many products contained on this site may be purchased in bulk at a discount.

• American Medical Association  
  The American Medical Association (AMA) is committed to responding to the dramatic changes in the nation's demographics and in health care delivery systems in many ways.  Representative of the AMA's work in this regard is the Cultural Competence Compendium, a 460-page resource guide to help physicians and other health professionals communicate with patients and provide individualized, respectful, patient-centered care. 

  Special Offer: Order the Compendium now for only $25--half-off the cover price of $50! To order, call Enza Messineo at (312) 464-5333.  Selected sections of the compendium are available on-line.

• Asthma Action Plan for School Children  
  is an action plan using Green, Yellow, and Red to help  children understand how to use their asthma medicines wisely.

• Asthma Quality Improvement Plan
  Ten-Point Asthma Care QI Plan developed by Genevieve Moss, PNP at Hill Health Center, New Haven CT.  Hill Health Center is a participant in the Asthma Collaborative sponsored by the Bureau of Primary Health Care.

• American Lung Association Resources
  
  

  Asthma Information Center

  IAQ Tools for Schools

• Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America Resources
  
  

  Student Asthma Action Card

  Childcare Asthma Action Card

  Resource Catalog

• American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology
  
  

  Patient & Consumer Information Materials

  Professional Resource Information Center

•  20 Tips to Prevent Medical Errors (Spanish),
   20 Tips to Prevent Medical Errors (English)
  AHRQ's Spanish/English language versions of the new fact sheet with practical tips to help people protect themselves from errors in their health care.  20 Tips to Prevent Medical Errors has specific, research - based recommendations on preventing medical errors related to medicines, hospital stays, and surgery.

• Docs Need SOC's (Systems of Care)
  A QI tool for primary care and an invaluable downloadable resource for anyone wanting to implement organizational QI in their practice.  This tool focuses on the four essential aspects of quality improvement to create an effective and efficient organization. DOCS need SOCS is the final report of the West Virginia Primary Care Association Quality Improvement Project in conjunction with the New River Health Association.