Correlation of care process measures with childhood asthma exacerbations.

Objective: We sought to define processes of pediatric asthma care identifiable through administrative data that correlate with asthma exacerbations for use in quality improvement.

Methods: Commercially insured children aged 5 to 17 years from the Pediatric Physicians' Organization at Children's, an independent practice association affiliated with Boston Children's Hospital, with persistent asthma in 2008, 2009, or 2010 were identified. The correlations of various process measures with asthma exacerbations, defined as hospitalizations or emergency department visits for asthma or outpatient visits for asthma with an oral steroid prescription, were analyzed by using logistic regression.

Ambulatory subspecialty visits in a large pediatric primary care network.

Objective: To determine patterns of subspecialty utilization within a pediatric primary care network.

Data Sources/study Setting: Paid claims from a large not-for-profit health plan for patients of The Pediatric Physicians' Organization at Children's, a network of private pediatric practices affiliated with Children's Hospital Boston.

Principal Findings: The subspecialty visit rate was 1.