Multicolored simplified asthma guideline reminder (MSAGR) for better adherence to national/global asthma guidelines.

Background: Clinicians in general have not widely and consistently used asthma guidelines in their practices around the world. This study identifies reasons for the poor adherence to asthma guidelines by primary care physicians (PCPs), and simultaneously introduces multicolored simplified asthma guideline reminder (MSAGR) as a practical tool to enhance adherence to asthma guidelines.

Methods: Sixty-nine PCPs were given a simple, one-page, fill-in-the-blank questionnaire on the classification of asthma severity as defined in National Asthma Education and Prevention Program guidelines, using patients' symptoms, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR)/forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) value, PEFR variability, and step therapy based on asthma severity. Also, they were given a questionnaire on barriers to using asthma guidelines and MSAGR for evaluation. In one targeted community, free copies of MSAGR were made available to PCPs, and data on emergency room visits and hospitalization of asthmatic patients were analyzed.

Results: Of the PCPs, 16% correctly classified mild, intermittent asthma, 13% mild, persistent asthma, 8% moderate, persistent asthma, and 8% severe, persistent asthma based on the combined patient's symptoms, PEFR or FEV1 value and PEFR variability as defined in National Asthma Education and Prevention Program guidelines. One hundred percent of the PCPs chose inhaled beta2-agonists as quick relief medication. Fifty percent of the PCPs chose inhaled steroids, leukotriene antagonists, oral theophylline, and long acting beta-agonists in various combinations for different severity of asthma. Eighty percent of the physicians failed to select the appropriate dosages of inhaled steroids for different severities of asthma. Ninety-five percent of PCPs reported that MSAGR made using the guidelines easier for them. In the targeted community, asthma-related emergency room visits decreased 22.5% and hospitalizations by 26.9%.

Conclusions: This is the first study that identified the reasons for poor adherence to asthma guidelines by PCPs, and introduced MSAGR as a practical "low-tech" tool to promote better adherence to asthma guidelines. MSAGR presents patient-specific recommendations, based on asthma guidelines in a user-friendly format that can save the physician time in real-world primary care settings, where such information is often needed instantly. The overwhelming majority of PCPs strongly agreed that MSAGR helped them recall the classification of asthma severity in a timely manner, to inquire about various triggers, and to use step therapy accurately and confidently. In one targeted community, MSAGR helped clinicians in primary care settings to achieve better asthma outcomes and to reduce both emergency room visits and hospitalizations.