National Jewish to Provide Asthma Disease Management for University of Texas Health Science Center Study
National Jewish Medical and Research Center has been chosen to provide asthma disease-management services for a controlled trial designed as a rigorous evaluation of disease management in a real-world population.
"When the physicians in our research network evaluated several disease-management programs, they selected the National Jewish program because of its high quality," said Autumn Dawn Galbreath, MD, Director of the Disease Management Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. "National Jewish also had the data to back up its claims of quality and effectiveness."
The National Jewish disease-management program will provide telephonic and mail education and support for approximately 700 moderate and severe persistent asthma patients in the San Antonio region. Study participants will include uninsured patients, those on Medicaid, and Military Health Service and Veterans Administration patients. The patient population was chosen to test the effectiveness of asthma disease management in a group of relatively ill and underserved patients who more accurately reflect heavy users of asthma healthcare than have been included in previous research.
The 46-month study by the Health Science Center will enroll 1,053 patients in three different arms. A control group will receive traditional care. A second arm will receive National Jewish disease-management services. A third arm will receive National Jewish diseases-management services, plus four home visits by respiratory therapists, who will conduct patient education and home interventions. The researchers will then evaluate the program's effect on healthcare utilization, quality of life, patient satisfaction, and lung function. To date, the study has received $2.8 million in funding for one year from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"We are gratified that The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has chosen National Jewish to contribute to this important study," said David Tinkelman, MD, Vice President of Health Initiatives at National Jewish. "We believe it offers an excellent opportunity to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of disease management for asthma."
The National Jewish program will rely primarily on written materials and proactive phone calls to help asthma patients better understand and manage their asthma. Registered nurses will evaluate the severity of patients' asthma, their knowledge of the disease, and their ability to manage an asthma episode. Then they will help patients develop detailed plans to manage their disease and encourage good self-monitoring techniques.
They will also send patients via postal mail a variety of educational materials and a peak flow monitor, if needed. In addition, a 24/7 call center is available for incoming calls from patients who have questions or problems concerning their asthma. In order to help coordinate care with patients' primary care physicians, National Jewish will send them written reports after each telephone contact.
National Jewish has been delivering asthma disease-management services since 1996, and has enrolled more than 20,000 patients throughout the nation. Previous studies have shown significant reductions in both healthcare utilization and absenteeism. National Jewish has been named the top respiratory hospital in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for six years running.
