Pharmacy & Therapeutics - February 2009 - (Page 85)

Asthma Utilization Rx Analyzer (AURA) Tool metrics for analysis and automated key reports to facilitate the implementation and analysis necessary to improve asthma care. An asthma research collaboration is under way to implement AURA to measure trends and to identify quality-improvement opportunities within various health care organizations. Aggregate results from the collaboration are being used to validate performance benchmarks among MCOs. Assurance. 8. The State of Heath Care Quality 2007. National Committee for Quality Assurance. Available at: www.ncqa.org. Accessed March 12, 2007. 9. Weiss KB. Challenges in evaluating and treating asthma. Manag Care 2005;14(8):8–11. 10. Jackson JH, Ramachandran S, Lunacsek OE, Guiterrez B. Technology advancement for better asthma management: The Asthma Utilization Rx Analyzer. J Manag Care Pharm 2008;14(2):247. 11. Smart BA. The costs of asthma and allergy. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). Allergy & Asthma Advocate: Fall 2004. 12. Baker KM, Brand DA, Hen J. Classifying asthma: Disagreement among specialists. Chest 2003;124;2156–2163. 13. Clark CE, Coote JM, Silver DA, Halpin DM. Asthma after childhood pneumonia: Six-year follow-up study. BMJ 2000;320(7248): 1514–1516. 14. Schatz M, Nakahiro R, Crawford W, et al. Asthma quality-of-care markers using administrative data. Chest 2005;128;1968–1973. 15. Mosen DM, Macy E, Schatz M, et al. How well do the HEDIS asthma inclusion criteria identify persistent asthma? Am J Manag Care 2005;11:650–654. 16. Fuhlbrigge A, Carey VJ, Adams RJ, et al. Evaluation of asthma prescription measures and health system performance based on emergency department utilization. Med Care 2004;42:465–471. 17. O’Connor RD. Understanding asthma severity: Variability of classifications and outcomes. Manag Care 2004;13(7)(Suppl):3-8. 18. Stallworth LE, Fick DM, Ownby DR, Waller JL. Antibiotic use in children who have asthma: Results of retrospective database analysis. J Manag Care Pharm 2005;11(8):657–662. 19. Stempel DA, McLaughin TP, Stanford RH, Fuhlbrigge AL. Patterns of asthma control: A 3-year analysis of patient claims. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2005;115:935–939. 20. Stempel DA, McLaughlin TP, Stanford RH. Treatment patterns for pediatric asthma prior to and after emergency department events. Pediatr Pulmonol 2005;40:310–315. 21. Stempel DA, Roberts CS, Stanford RH. Treatment patterns in the months prior to and after asthma-related emergency department visit. Chest 2004;126;75–80. 22. Diette GB, Krishnan JA, Dominici F, et al. Asthma in older patients: Factors associated with hospitalization. Arch Intern Med 2002;162(10):1123–1132. 23. Stibolt T. Asthma. Permanente J 2007;11(1):56–61. I LIMITATIONS OF AURA TECHNOLOGY AURA is limited by the accuracy of the data that are imported by each organization. Although a data request form is provided with the software tool, users may choose to depart from the instructions described in the form. Consequently, results should be interpreted in light of the actual patient population and claims analyzed. Departures from the data request form may also render comparisons with the default PharMetrics references invalid. AURA is also limited to an analysis of prespecified utilization measures. Although AURA captures the key measures of resource utilization in asthma (e.g., emergency and outpatient visits, hospitalizations, compliance with medication regimens, use of SABAs and steroids), any new measures of interest would not be captured by the tool without reprogramming the software. CONCLUSION Managing asthma can be challenging and costly. Innovative technology that can assist in detecting ways to improve and streamline a population-specific approach to care would prove invaluable from both a health and an economic standpoint. AURA technology allows health plans to evaluate key utilization outcome measures to optimize asthma treatment, which can lead to improved patient health, more appropriate use of medications, and reductions in the overall cost of asthma care. REFERENCES 1. National Center for Health Statistics. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2006. Available at: www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_235.pdf. Accessed October 28, 2008. 2. National Center for Health Statistics. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2006. Available at: www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_234.pdf. Accessed October 28, 2008. 3. American Lung Association: Trends in asthma morbidity and mortality. November 2007. 4. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Chartbook on cardiovascular, lung and blood disease. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health; 2007. 5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Vital and Health Statistics. The state of childhood asthma, United States, 1980–2005. Advanced Data No. 381, December 12, 2006. 6. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3): Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. (Summary report, NIH Pub No. 08-5846.) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. October 2007. 7. Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) 2007, Vol 2. Effectiveness of care: Use of appropriate medications for people with asthma. National Committee for Quality CALL FOR PAPERS P&T is now accepting article submissions from its readers. We welcome a wide variety of manuscripts, including drug class reviews, disease state management reviews, pharmacoeconomic analyses, strategies for coping with medication errors, outcomes research evaluations, DUEs, P&T committee experiences, commentaries, book reviews, and letters to the editor. We are also interested in receiving articles for both continuing education (CE) and continuing medical education (CME) credit. Articles to be considered for dual accreditation should provide an overview of topics that are directly relevant to health care practitioners. Please see our author guidelines at PTCommunity.com. You can contact the editor, Sonja Sherritze, via telephone: 267-685-2779, or e-mail: ssherritze@medimedia.com. Vol. 34 No. 2 • February 2009 • P&T® 85 http://www.ncqa.org http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_235.pdf http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_234.pdf http://www.PTCommunity.com

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Pharmacy & Therapeutics - February 2009 Contents Editorial Medication Errors Prescription: Washington New Drugs/Drug News/New Medical Devices Drug Forecast Pushing an Expanded Role for Pharmacists Better Asthma Management with Advanced Technology Pharmaceutical Approval Update 58th Annual Meeting, American Society of Human Genetics, 2008 American Society of Hematology, 50th Annual Meeting and Exposition 2008 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology, 3rd Edition Author Guidelines

Pharmacy & Therapeutics - February 2009

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