A review of asthma care in 50 general practices in Bedfordshire, United Kingdom

A review of asthma care in 50 general practices in Bedfordshire, United KingdomA review of asthma care in 50 general practices in Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, Published online: 26 July 2018; doi:10.1038/s41533-018-0093-7Pro-active disease management for patients with asthma is crucial and could be vastly improved with an overhaul of computer systems in primary care. Following the UK National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) in 2011–2014, multiple mortality risk factors were identified that have yet to be factored into asthma care. The NHS Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, with support from NSHI and Dr Mark L Levy (Harrow CCG), conducted a manual audit of 50 Bedfordshire doctors’ surgeries to identify relevant NRAD recommendations to optimize patient care. Levy’s team found marked variations in asthma care between the surgeries. Risk factors present included excessive short-acting reliever inhaler prescriptions and inadequate prescribing of preventer inhalers, together with limited implementation of personal asthma plans and annual reviews. The researchers highlight the limitations of existing computer systems for these purposes and recommend an overhaul of asthma tracking and automated alerts.
Source: npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine - Category: Primary Care Authors: Source Type: research