Implementation of a Simplified Asthma Action Plan in a Pediatric Pulmonary Practice
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Conner, Jessica
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Abstract
roblem: Personalized asthma action plans (AAPs) are the gold standard of care in all asthma guidelines and supported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics. AAPs improve asthma control, improve impact on parental self-efficacy for asthma management, reduce missed school days, and improve medication compliance. Despite this, the use of AAP’s in the outpatient settings are inconsistent. A chart audit performed within an urban pediatric pulmonary practice located in Baltimore, MD showed 0-33% average rate of AAP use over 14 weeks in the Fall of 2022. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement an electronic AAP (eAAP) for patients with asthma to improve asthma management and maintenance within a pediatric pulmonary outpatient clinic. Methods: Implementation of this personalized eAAP took place over a 14-week period fall 2023. Project team consisted of two pulmonologists, three nurse practitioner (NP) students, and four nurses. All patients seen in this clinic with a diagnosis of asthma under the age of 18 were included in this project. An electronic AAP template that could be personalized for each patient was developed to be reviewed, updated, and distributed to families in the after-visit summary (AVS) of each visit. Weekly chart audits were completed to track the percentage of patients with completed eAAP on visit discharge, oral steroid prescriptions, and asthma-related emergency room visits within the following 4 weeks. Biweekly meetings, reference card reminders, and email progress updates were used to encourage eAAP usage and compliance. Results: 154 patients with asthma were seen within this 14- week timeframe. Average eAAP compliance was 67% which was a 53% increase from the previous year. New oral steroid prescriptions needed ranged from 6 to 55% over the course of the project compared to a 58% average pre implementation. Asthma-related emergency care visits ranged from 5 to 20% during implementation compared to the 15% average pre-implementation. Conclusions: Implementation of the AAP smart phrase increased asthma action plan usage at an outpatient pediatric pulmonology clinic, fostering improved pediatric asthma self-management for patients and families. No statistically significant correlation between AAP compliance and ER visits and number of oral steroid prescriptions were found.
