Are we prepared for Affordable Care Act provisions of care coordination? Case managers' self-assessments and views on physicians' roles.

Purpose Of Study: Care coordination, traditionally the purview of the case management field, is recognized as a national priority for improving health care delivery and patient outcomes. With reforms of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, case managers face new challenges and opportunities in providing care coordination services. The evolving roles of case managers as members of interprofessional care teams will be influenced by new policies that enable physicians to be reimbursed for care coordination.

Review of the NAEPP 2007 Expert Panel Report (EPR-3) on Asthma Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines.

Background: In 1989, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) convened an expert panel to develop a report that would provide a general approach to the treatment of asthma. Expert Panel Report: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, or EPR-1, was published in 1991 and was subsequently updated with 2 other reports, EPR-2 in 1997 and the EPR update in 2002. Advances in science and a greater understanding of the pathophysiology of asthma prompted the NAEPP to convene a 3rd expert panel in 2004.

Introduction: Medicare Section 1013 and AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program.

Objective: To introduce Section 1013 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Effective Health Care Program.

Background: AHRQ, under Section 1013 of the MMA of 2003, has been charged with conducting specific health care outcomes studies through the Effective Health Care Program. This research is aimed specifically at determining the safety and effectiveness of certain pharmaceuticals since comparative data is currently lacking.

Discussing the COSTS of asthma: controlling outcomes, symptoms, and treatment strategies.

Asthma is a very common chronic disease characterized by clinically recurrent episodes of wheezing, dyspnea, chest tightness, and coughing. Both genetic and environmental factors appear to play major roles in the etiology of asthma. The economic and social costs of asthma are varied and far reaching.

Contemporary issues in the care of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and is estimated to be responsible for 119,000 deaths in the year 2000 alone. Additionally, COPD places a tremendous burden on the health care system, with estimated annual costs of US 24 billion dollars in 2000, and it is generally expected that costs will continue to rise as more individuals are diagnosed. COPD was responsible for approximately 8 million physician outpatient visits, 1.