Development and dissemination of minimum standards of care for asthma.

Asthma is a common illness in children and adults that is often associated with suboptimal outcomes, despite the existence and distribution of carefully considered national and international guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. The need to improve asthma care in North Texas motivated a coalition of health plans, employers, hospitals, academic medical centers, providers, and benefit consultants to collaborate in developing and implementing Minimum Standards of Care for Asthma. To gain consensus, the North Central Texas HEDIS Coalition used a panel of regional asthma experts and surveyed a large number of primary-care providers to construct a one-page document that was ultimately approved by regional stakeholders in healthcare participating in this coalition and also by specialty organizations in Texas. Adopting a minimum standard guideline, developed and supported by multiple stakeholders, may represent a more realistic intermediate goal when implementing "best practice" guidelines is limited by practical barriers.