Helping patients breathe easier
In fiscal year 1998, the North Carolina Medicaid program spent more than $23 million on asthma-related care. Prevalence of the disease within the Medicaid was also high, with approximately 14 percent diagnosed with asthma. Analysis of Medicaid claims data for Community Care enrollees also demonstrated that the primary reason for both hospital and emergency room visits for patients under 21 was asthma. Clearly, a strong focus on managing this disease was needed. CCNC's Asthma Disease Management Program was built on best practices defined by the CCNC Clinical Directors.
The four core elements of the initiative are:
- Build capacity for routine assessment of asthma
- Reduce unintended variation in care, and establish consistency of care
- Build capacity to educate patients, families and school personnel about asthma
- Report outcomes and process measures to all providers and staff regularly