Outcomes evaluation of a comprehensive intervention program for asthmatic children enrolled in medicaid.

Objectives: To evaluate health care and financial outcomes in a population of Medicaid-insured asthmatic children after a comprehensive asthma intervention program.

Design: Controlled clinical trial.

Setting: Pediatric allergy clinic in an urban, tertiary care children's hospital.

Subjects: Eighty children, 2 to 16 years old, with a history of frequent use of emergent health care services for asthma. Intervention. Children in the intervention group received asthma education and medical treatment in the setting of a tertiary care pediatric allergy clinic. An asthma outreach nurse maintained monthly contact with the families enrolled in the intervention group.

Outcome Measures: Emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and health care charges per patient in the year after enrollment.

Results: Baseline demographics did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. In the year before the study, there were no significant differences between intervention and control children in ED visits (mean, 3.5 per patient), hospitalizations (mean,.6 per patient) or health care charges ($2969 per patient). During the study year, ED visits decreased to a mean of 1.7 per patient in the intervention group and 2.4 in controls, while hospitalizations decreased to a mean of.2 per patient in the intervention group and.5 in the controls. Average asthma health care charges decreased by $721/child/year in the intervention group and by $178/patient/year in the control group.

Conclusions: A comprehensive asthma intervention program for Medicaid-insured asthmatic children can significantly improve health outcomes while reducing health care costs.asthma education, health care outcomes, Medicaid, asthma outreach, utilization.