ASTHMA - BENCHMARKING FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Background: Linked medical and pharmacy claims can be used to identify patients with asthma and benchmark current practice standards. Method : This was a 3-year study of five independent practice association sty le health maintenance organizations with an annual enrollment of 870,0 00, More than 28,000 members were identified with claims for asthma. O bjective: The intent of this study was to benchmark current asthma pra ctice. Before quality improvement projects can be implemented baseline data are required. Results: The prevalence of asthma varied by geogra phic regions. Specialty care was associated with greater use of anti-i nflammatory medications and more refills of these drugs, Refill rates for inhaled corticosteroids for all patients was low. Specialty care o f asthmatic members was associated with a lower rate of emergency serv ice events and hospitalizations. Conclusions: Linked medical and pharm acy claims' databases can be used to benchmark current practice perfor mance and serve as a reference for quality improvement programs. Appro priate use of specialty care may improve asthma outcomes.