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Moloney M, Digby G, MacKinnon M, Morra A, Barber D, Queenan J, Gupta S, To T, Lougheed MD. Primary care asthma surveillance: a review of knowledge translation tools and strategies for quality improvement. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol 2023; 19:3. [PMID: 36650578 PMCID: PMC9843861 DOI: 10.1186/s13223-022-00755-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Viable knowledge translation (KT) strategies are increasingly sought to improve asthma diagnosis, particularly in primary care. Despite this understanding, practical KT tools to support primary care practitioners are not widely available. Electronic medical records (EMRs) offer an opportunity to optimize the diagnosis and surveillance of chronic diseases such as asthma, and support quality improvement initiatives that increase adherence to guideline-recommended care. This review aims to describe the current state of electronic KT electronic tools (eTools) and surveillance systems for asthma and identify opportunities to increase adherence to asthma diagnostic guidelines by implementing digital KT eTools. METHODS Systematic literature searches were conducted on Ovid MEDLINE that included the search terms: asthma, asthma diagnosis, asthma surveillance, electronic health records, translational medical research, quality improvement, professional practice gaps, and primary health care published in the previous 10 years. In total, the searches returned 971 articles, 163 of which were considered relevant and read in full. An additional 28 articles were considered after reviewing the references from selected articles. 75 articles were included in this narrative review. RESULTS Established KT eTools for asthma such as electronic questionnaires, computerized clinical decision support systems (CDSS), chronic disease surveillance networks, and asthma registries have been effective in improving the quality of asthma diagnosis and care. As well, chronic disease surveillance systems, severe asthma registries, and workplace asthma surveillance systems have demonstrated success in monitoring asthma outcomes. However, lack of use and/or documentation of objective measures of lung function, challenges in identifying asthma cases in EMRs, and limitations of data sources have created barriers in the development of KT eTools. Existing digital KT eTools that overcome these data quality limitations could provide an opportunity to improve adherence to best-practice guidelines for asthma diagnosis and management. CONCLUSION Future initiatives in the development of KT eTools for asthma care should focus on strategies that assist healthcare providers in accurately diagnosing and documenting cases of asthma. A digital asthma surveillance system could support adherence to best-practice guidelines of asthma diagnosis and surveillance by prompting use of objective methods of confirmation to confirm an asthma diagnosis within the EMR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Moloney
- grid.511274.4Asthma Research Unit, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON Canada ,grid.410356.50000 0004 1936 8331Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON Canada
| | - Geneviève Digby
- grid.410356.50000 0004 1936 8331Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON Canada
| | - Madison MacKinnon
- grid.511274.4Asthma Research Unit, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON Canada ,grid.410356.50000 0004 1936 8331Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON Canada
| | - Alison Morra
- grid.511274.4Asthma Research Unit, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON Canada ,grid.410356.50000 0004 1936 8331Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON Canada
| | - David Barber
- grid.410356.50000 0004 1936 8331Department of Family Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON Canada ,Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (Eastern Ontario Network), Kingston, ON Canada
| | - John Queenan
- grid.410356.50000 0004 1936 8331Department of Family Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON Canada
| | - Samir Gupta
- grid.415502.7Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON Canada ,grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Teresa To
- grid.42327.300000 0004 0473 9646Child Health Evaluative Science, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON Canada ,grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - M. Diane Lougheed
- grid.511274.4Asthma Research Unit, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON Canada ,grid.410356.50000 0004 1936 8331Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON Canada
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Standardization of Reporting Obstructive Airway Disease in Children: A National Delphi Process. THE JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY. IN PRACTICE 2023; 11:187-194.e6. [PMID: 36108926 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaip.2022.08.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pediatric pulmonologists report asthma and obstructive bronchitis in medical records in a variety of ways, and there is no consensus for standardized reporting. OBJECTIVE We investigated which diagnostic labels and features pediatric pulmonologists use to describe obstructive airway disease in children and aimed to reach consensus for standardized reporting. METHODS We obtained electronic health records from 562 children participating in the Swiss Pediatric Airway Cohort from 2017 to 2018. We reviewed the diagnosis section of the letters written by pediatric pulmonologists to referring physicians and extracted the terms used to describe the diagnosis. We grouped these terms into diagnostic labels (eg, asthma) and features (eg, triggers) using qualitative thematic framework analysis. We also assessed how frequently the different terms were used. Results were fed into a modified Delphi process to reach consensus on standardized reporting. RESULTS Pediatric pulmonologists used 123 different terms to describe the diagnosis, which we grouped into 6 diagnostic labels and 17 features. Consensus from the Delphi process resulted in the following recommendations: (i) to use the diagnostic label "asthma" for children older than 5 years and "obstructive bronchitis" or "suspected asthma" for children younger than 5 years; (ii) to accompany the diagnosis with relevant features: diagnostic certainty, triggers, symptom control, risk of exacerbation, atopy, treatment adherence, and symptom perception. CONCLUSION We found great heterogeneity in the reporting of obstructive airway disease among pediatric pulmonologists. The proposed standardized reporting will simplify communication among physicians and improve quality of research based on electronic health records.
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Validating a case definition for adult asthma in primary care electronic medical records. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2020; 30:24. [PMID: 32503968 PMCID: PMC7275082 DOI: 10.1038/s41533-020-0181-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Accepted: 04/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Although asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions affecting Canadians, its epidemiologic characteristics and burden in primary care contexts are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a case definition to identify adults with asthma who consult family physicians and to estimate the prevalence of asthma in that setting in Canada. This validation study utilized a database of electronic medical records (EMRs) from the Southern Alberta Primary Care Research Network, a node of the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (SAPCReN-CPCSSN). The population included patients over age 17y of any gender and health status who had visited an SAPCReN-CPCSSN primary care provider during the period December 1, 2014−December 31, 2016. The validation of the case definition involved comparing a case-finding algorithm to caseness determined by an expert physician review of the records of 1000 patient in the CPCSSN database. The case definition, which included the ICD-9 code 493 and asthma-related text words, had 83.33% sensitivity (95% CI: 63.61–93.88%), 99.28% specificity (95% CI: 98.51–99.67%), a positive predictive value of 74.07% (95% CI: 55.03–87.14%), and a negative predictive value of 99.59% (95% CI: 98.93–99.86%). The prevalence of adult asthma in CPCSSN primary care practices in southern Alberta was 4.20% (95% CI: 4.09–4.31). The strong validation metrics suggest that this case definition is valid for both clinical and research purposes. The validated case definition may be used to improve patient care and improve understanding of the prevalence and burden of asthma in primary care in Canada.
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Leibel S, Weber R. Utilizing a Physician Notification System in the EPIC Electronic Medical Record to Improve Pediatric Asthma Control: A Quality Improvement Project. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 2019; 58:1334-1337. [PMID: 31402684 DOI: 10.1177/0009922819867455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sydney Leibel
- University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Rachel Weber
- Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
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Falck L, Zoller M, Rosemann T, Martínez-González NA, Chmiel C. Toward Standardized Monitoring of Patients With Chronic Diseases in Primary Care Using Electronic Medical Records: Systematic Review. JMIR Med Inform 2019; 7:e10879. [PMID: 31127717 PMCID: PMC6555125 DOI: 10.2196/10879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2018] [Revised: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Long-term care for patients with chronic diseases poses a huge challenge in primary care. In particular, there is a deficit regarding monitoring and structured follow-up. Appropriate electronic medical records (EMRs) could help improving this but, so far, there are no evidence-based specifications concerning the indicators that should be monitored at regular intervals. Objective The aim was to identify and collect a set of evidence-based indicators that could be used for monitoring chronic conditions at regular intervals in primary care using EMRs. Methods We searched MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Elsevier), the Cochrane Library (Wiley), the reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews, and the content of clinical guidelines. We included primary studies and guidelines reporting about indicators that allow for the assessment of care and help monitor the status and process of disease for five chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, asthma, arterial hypertension, chronic heart failure, and osteoarthritis. Results The use of the term “monitoring” in terms of disease management and long-term care for patients with chronic diseases is not widely used in the literature. Nevertheless, we identified a substantial number of disease-specific indicators that can be used for routine monitoring of chronic diseases in primary care by means of EMRs. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review summarizing the existing scientific evidence on the standardized long-term monitoring of chronic diseases using EMRs. In a second step, our extensive set of indicators will serve as a generic template for evaluating their usability by means of an adapted Delphi procedure. In a third step, the indicators will be summarized into a user-friendly EMR layout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leandra Falck
- Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich and University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marco Zoller
- Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich and University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Rosemann
- Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich and University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Corinne Chmiel
- Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich and University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Tsaur S, Gleason L, Kim Y. Quality Indicator Completion Rates for Adults with Tetralogy of Fallot. Pediatr Cardiol 2018; 39:1700-1706. [PMID: 30121865 DOI: 10.1007/s00246-018-1954-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Quality indicators for adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) were recently published due to a lack of consensus regarding delivery of care to adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). The objective of this study was to examine adherence to quality indicators for the care of patients with tetralogy of Fallot. Adults with tetralogy of Fallot seen in outpatient cardiology clinics at a tertiary care facility between July 2014 and June 2015 were included, and electronic medical records for each visit were reviewed. Completion rates for eight proposed quality indicator metrics were recorded and results for ACHD and non-ACHD cardiologists were compared. A total of 96 eligible patients completed 179 cardiology visits (134 ACHD and 45 non-ACHD). The quality indicator completion rates were over 80% for 7 of the 8 indicators. Metric 5 (cardiac magnetic resonance imaging every five years) had the lowest completion rate at 38.7%. Compared to non-ACHD cardiologists, ACHD cardiologists had higher completion rates for QRS assessment (88.1% vs. 75.6%, p = 0.04), echocardiogram by CHD expert (97.8% vs. 80.0%, p < 0.001), and infective endocarditis counseling (95.9% vs. 77.4%, p = 0.001). In this single center study, there was a wide range of quality indicator completion rates for tetralogy of Fallot. Routine cardiac MRI by an expert in CHD was identified as an area for improvement. There were significant differences in quality indicator completion between ACHD and non-ACHD cardiologists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Tsaur
- Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA. .,The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Lacey Gleason
- Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Yuli Kim
- Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Sundaresan AS, Schneider G, Reynolds J, Kirchner HL. Identifying Asthma Exacerbation-Related Emergency Department Visit Using Electronic Medical Record and Claims Data. Appl Clin Inform 2018; 9:528-540. [PMID: 30040112 PMCID: PMC6051766 DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1666994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Asthma exacerbation leading to emergency department (ED) visit is prevalent, an indicator of poor control of asthma, and is a potentially preventable clinical outcome.
Objective
We propose to utilize multiple data elements available in electronic medical records (EMRs) and claims database to create separate algorithms with high validity for clinical and research purposes to identify asthma exacerbation-related ED visit among the general population.
Methods
We performed a retrospective study with inclusion criteria of patients aged 4 to 40 years, a visit to Geisinger ED from January 1, 2006, to October 28, 2013, with asthma on their problem list. Different electronic data elements including chief complaints, vitals, season, smoking, medication use, and discharge diagnoses were obtained to create the algorithm. A stratified random sample was generated to select the charts for review. Chart review was performed to classify patients with asthma-related ED visit, that is, the gold standard. Two reviewers performed the chart review and validation was done on a small subset.
Results
There were 966 eligible ED visits in the EMR sample and 731 in the claims sample. Agreement between reviewers was 95.45% and kappa statistic was 0.91. Mean age of the EMR sample was 22 years, and mostly white (93%). Multiple models conventionally used in studies were evaluated and the final model chosen included principal diagnosis, bronchodilator, and steroid use for both algorithms, chief complaints for EMR, and secondary diagnosis for claims. Area under the curve was 0.93 (95% confidence interval: 0.91–0.94) and 0.94 (0.93–0.96), respectively, for EMR and claims data, with positive predictive value of > 94%. The algorithms are visually presented using nomograms.
Conclusion
We were able to develop two separate algorithms for EMR and claims to identify asthma exacerbation-related ED visit with excellent diagnostic ability and varying discrimination threshold for clinical and research purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes S Sundaresan
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Services Research, Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pennsylvania, United States.,Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Gargi Schneider
- MedPeds Program, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Joy Reynolds
- Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - H Lester Kirchner
- Department of Biomedical and Translational Informatics, Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pennsylvania, United States.,Department of Clinical Sciences, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Geisinger Health System, Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, Global and Immigrant Health Section, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States
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Sadoughi F, Yazdanian A, Hamedan F. Provision of the minimum dataset of asthma for electronic health record. J Family Med Prim Care 2018; 7:1309-1313. [PMID: 30613517 PMCID: PMC6293910 DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_46_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Determining the standard data elements for developing an integrated information system is of crucial importance in order to better design electronic health records system at the national level. The aim of the present study was to determine the minimum data elements of asthma for the electronic health record in Iran. Materials and Methods: The present study was an applied research that was conducted in a descriptive method. Minimum dataset (MDS) of asthma in selected countries was assessed through print and electronic literature. Data on MDS of asthma in selected countries were analyzed using comparative tables and determining the common and differentiating features of the dataset. At the validation phase of the model, frequency distribution (number and percentage), median, and quark distortion index of the questions in the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS and Minitab software. Results: MDS of asthma was categorized into management and clinical classes. Management class had 3 subclasses (demographic, clearance, and insurance-financial) and 12 data elements, whereas clinical class had 4 subclasses (risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and asthma education to the patient) and 22 data elements. Conclusion: The present study showed that some of the essential data elements in the MDS of other countries are needed by organizations or care providers in the country that were not collected. Therefore, a complete list of the minimum data elements set for the health electronic record was created.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farahnaz Sadoughi
- Department of Health Information Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Azade Yazdanian
- Department of Health Information Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farahnaz Hamedan
- Department of Health Information Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Lougheed MD, Thomas NJ, Wasilewski NV, Morra AH, Minard JP. Use of SNOMED CT® and LOINC® to standardize terminology for primary care asthma electronic health records. J Asthma 2017; 55:629-639. [PMID: 28800265 DOI: 10.1080/02770903.2017.1362424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The burden of asthma ranks among the highest for chronic diseases. Interoperable electronic health records (EHRs) can improve the management of chronic diseases such as asthma by facilitating sharing of data between health care settings along the continuum of care. Terminology such as SNOMED CT® (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms) and LOINC® (Logistical Observation Identifier Names and Codes) are prerequisites for interoperability of EHRs. We sought to determine the extent to which data elements in a validated asthma care map (ACM) are congruent with these terminologies. METHODS A certified asthma educator entered all 169 elements in the ACM into the SNOMED CT® browser. Matched elements were assigned a concept name, an identification number, and classified into a hierarchy. LOINC® terminology was reviewed for asthma-related pulmonary function tests (PFTs). RESULTS Forty-two percent of the ACM elements were complete matches to existing SNOMED CT® concepts, 24% partial matches, and 34% unmatched. Specific asthma control parameters were either complete (n = 3) or partial (n = 4) matches, but overall "asthma control" was unmatched. There were 92% complete or partial matches for PFT elements to SNOMED CT® and 83% to LOINC®. Conclusions: The majority of ACM elements are congruent with standardized terminology, enabling EHR interoperability. Future requests for new concepts in SNOMED CT® and LOINC® should be pursued for asthma control parameters paramount to evidence-based practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Diane Lougheed
- a Department of Medicine , Queen's University , Kingston , Ontario , Canada.,b Asthma Research Unit, Clinical Research Centre, Kingston General Hospital , Ontario , Canada.,c Department of Public Health Sciences , Queen's University , Kingston , Ontario , Canada
| | - Nicola J Thomas
- d Health Sciences Faculty, St. Lawrence College , Kingston , Ontario , Canada
| | - Nastasia V Wasilewski
- a Department of Medicine , Queen's University , Kingston , Ontario , Canada.,b Asthma Research Unit, Clinical Research Centre, Kingston General Hospital , Ontario , Canada
| | - Alison H Morra
- b Asthma Research Unit, Clinical Research Centre, Kingston General Hospital , Ontario , Canada
| | - Janice P Minard
- a Department of Medicine , Queen's University , Kingston , Ontario , Canada.,b Asthma Research Unit, Clinical Research Centre, Kingston General Hospital , Ontario , Canada
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Orozco-Beltrán D, Carratalá-Munuera C, Arriero JM, Campo P, Martínez-Moragón E, Molina J, Quintano-Jiménez JA, Gil-Guillén VF. Management and referral of patients with severe and poorly controlled asthma in primary care. Fam Pract 2016; 33:678-683. [PMID: 27543792 DOI: 10.1093/fampra/cmw081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over 50% of treated patients with asthma in Europe are not well controlled. Their management in primary health care (PHC) differs from that in specialized care, and there is no real coordination between the two. OBJECTIVES To identify barriers and solutions to improving the management of patients with severe and poorly controlled asthma and the communication between specialists and PHC, and to reach a consensus on the criteria for referral patients. METHODS An observational study using a modified Delphi technique. About 79 physicians from PHC, pneumology and allergy fields from different Spanish regions were invited to participate via an online questionnaire. Consensus was reached on an item when more than two-thirds of the panel members scored within the 3-point category (1-3 or 7-9) containing the median and the interquartile range of answers had to be ≤4 points. RESULTS Response rate: 52%. After the second round, consensus items were 40 (62.5%): of which 37 in agreement and 3 in disagreement. Around 92.68% of respondents agreed that it would be useful to incorporate questionnaires for asthma control into PHC computer-based searches. About 100% of participants agreed that clear consensus criteria between PHC and specialists must be determined to decide when a patient with asthma is referred from PHC to specialist or vice versa. Ten of the proposed criteria reached consensus agreement. CONCLUSION The failure to use guidelines and specific questionnaires for asthma control in PHC is one reason why there is underdiagnosis and poor control of asthma. Some strategies to improve the asthma care management emerged from the survey results.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Juan M Arriero
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Alicante, Spain
| | - Paloma Campo
- Allergology Division, Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | | | - Jesús Molina
- Primary Care Center, Centro de Salud Francia, Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain and
| | | | - Vicente F Gil-Guillén
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Alicante, Spain
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Rottenkolber M, Fischer R, Ibáñez L, Fortuny J, Reynolds R, Amelio J, Gerlach R, Tauscher M, Thürmann P, Hasford J, Schmiedl S. Prescribing of long-acting beta-2-agonists/inhaled corticosteroids after the SMART trial. BMC Pulm Med 2015; 15:55. [PMID: 25943421 PMCID: PMC4428117 DOI: 10.1186/s12890-015-0051-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2014] [Accepted: 04/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background After the SMART trial evaluating the safety of salmeterol (long-acting beta-2-agonist (LABA)) in asthma patients, regulatory actions were taken to promote a guideline-adherent prescribing of LABA only to patients receiving inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). We aim to analyse LABA- and ICS-related prescription patterns after the SMART trial in Germany. Methods Patients documented in the Bavarian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians database (approximately 10.5 million people) were included if they had a diagnosis of asthma and at least one prescription of LABA and/or ICS between 2004 and 2008. Annual period prevalence rates (PPRs) were estimated and Cochrane Armitage tests were used for time trend analyses. Results Highest annual PPRs were found for budesonide and the fixed combination of salmeterol/fluticasone. The proportion of “concomitant LABA and ICS users” increased from 52.0 to 57.6% within the study period, whereas for “LABA users without ICS” a slight decrease from 6.5 to 5.4% was found. In 2008, the proportion of patients with at least one quarter with a LABA prescription without concomitant ICS was highest in elderly, male patients (≈20%). In the majority of these patients, a concomitant diagnosis of COPD (i.e. asthma-COPD overlap syndrome [ACOS]) was present. Conclusions Between 2004 and 2008, we found a moderate increase in guideline-adherent LABA prescribing in a representative German population. Elderly men received a significant number of LABA prescriptions without concomitant ICS probably due to ACOS. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12890-015-0051-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marietta Rottenkolber
- Institute for Medical Information Sciences, Biometry, and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet, Marchioninistr. 15, D-81377, Munich, Germany.
| | | | - Luisa Ibáñez
- Fundació Institut Català de Farmacologia, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain. .,Departament de Farmacologia, Terapèutica i Toxicologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | | | | | | | - Roman Gerlach
- National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Bavaria, Munich, Germany.
| | - Martin Tauscher
- National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Bavaria, Munich, Germany.
| | - Petra Thürmann
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany. .,Philipp Klee-Institute for Clinical Pharmacology, HELIOS Clinic Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany.
| | - Joerg Hasford
- Institute for Medical Information Sciences, Biometry, and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet, Marchioninistr. 15, D-81377, Munich, Germany.
| | - Sven Schmiedl
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany. .,Philipp Klee-Institute for Clinical Pharmacology, HELIOS Clinic Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany.
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Courtot M, Brinkman RR, Ruttenberg A. The logic of surveillance guidelines: an analysis of vaccine adverse event reports from an ontological perspective. PLoS One 2014; 9:e92632. [PMID: 24667848 PMCID: PMC3965435 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2013] [Accepted: 02/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND When increased rates of adverse events following immunization are detected, regulatory action can be taken by public health agencies. However to be interpreted reports of adverse events must be encoded in a consistent way. Regulatory agencies rely on guidelines to help determine the diagnosis of the adverse events. Manual application of these guidelines is expensive, time consuming, and open to logical errors. Representing these guidelines in a format amenable to automated processing can make this process more efficient. METHODS AND FINDINGS Using the Brighton anaphylaxis case definition, we show that existing clinical guidelines used as standards in pharmacovigilance can be logically encoded using a formal representation such as the Adverse Event Reporting Ontology we developed. We validated the classification of vaccine adverse event reports using the ontology against existing rule-based systems and a manually curated subset of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. However, we encountered a number of critical issues in the formulation and application of the clinical guidelines. We report these issues and the steps being taken to address them in current surveillance systems, and in the terminological standards in use. CONCLUSIONS By standardizing and improving the reporting process, we were able to automate diagnosis confirmation. By allowing medical experts to prioritize reports such a system can accelerate the identification of adverse reactions to vaccines and the response of regulatory agencies. This approach of combining ontology and semantic technologies can be used to improve other areas of vaccine adverse event reports analysis and should inform both the design of clinical guidelines and how they are used in the future. AVAILABILITY Sufficient material to reproduce our results is available, including documentation, ontology, code and datasets, at http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/aero.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ryan R. Brinkman
- BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Alan Ruttenberg
- School of Dental Medicine, University at Buffalo, New York, United States of America
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