On this page
The benefits of this project
Benefits for Your Patients
- Improved asthma control
- Reduced risk of asthma attacks
Benefits for Your Practice
- Reduced workload from unscheduled care due to poorly controlled asthma
- Upskilling of whole team so that all clinicians able to provide basic asthma care
Benefits for The Planet
- Well controlled asthma has 1/3rd of the carbon footprint of poorly controlled asthma
Opportunity for improvement
- Sub-optimally controlled asthma is common, in part because of normalisation of symptoms, underuse of preventer therapy, overuse of reliever therapy, and poor inhaler technique.
- Asthma reviews are an essential opportunity for reviewing if patients are using the right inhaled medicine and if this is getting to the right place in the airways.
- Empowering patients to understand their condition and how to manage it is an important element in improving asthma outcomes.
- Consider the following SMART goals. Improving the invites sent for asthma reviews within 1 month and/or creating links to the visual aid for asthma reviews on desktops with 1 month and/or holding an education session for clinical team members using on educational resources.
- (see disclaimers)
How to carry out this project
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Review the information sent in an asthma review invite
How are patients invited to an asthma review?
Is it with text message, letter, or booking link?
Is there any opportunity to link this process with some patient educational information or questionnaires to guide the review?
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Update your asthma review invites
Consider including:
- Importance of the review
- What to bring (inhalers, personalised asthma action plan, peak flow meter)
- Information leaflet or video on SABA over-reliance
- Information about inhalers and the environment
- Asthma control test questionnaire for patients to complete prior to their review
Resource: Example Text and Letter Invites
SMS Your asthma review is now due so please book an appointment. Remember to bring: your inhalers and spacer, peak flow meter and your Personalised Asthma Action Plan. This page explains how to get the most out of your review: https://www.asthma.org.uk/advice/manage-your-asthma/adult-review/ Before your asthma review, you can also learn more about asthma treatment from this leaflet https://bit.ly/3EmhyRT or watch this video https://bit.ly/3Vaqfoh. To learn more about inhaler devices and the environment, please read this leaflet https://bit.ly/3fSys0h or watch this video https://bit.ly/3T90yTn. Letter template Consultation invitation for asthma review with information-sharing Dear Patient, Our records show that you are due for an asthma review. Please call to book your asthma review appointment. Asthma reviews are essential to ensure you’re on the right treatment, to reduce your symptoms and to lower your risk of asthma attacks. Many people don’t realise their asthma could be better controlled. Did you know that good asthma control means you will rarely or never have symptoms? Or that if you need three or more salbutamol (blue) inhalers a year, this could mean your asthma control needs improvement? This Asthma + Lung webpage explains how to get the most out of your review: https://bit.ly/3yoKrJ7 For more information about asthma and good control, please read this leaflet bit.ly/3EmhyRT or watch this video https://bit.ly/3Vaqfoh. To learn more about inhaler devices and the environment, please read this leaflet https://bit.ly/3fSys0h or watch this video https://bit.ly/3T90yTn. We look forward to seeing you soon for your asthma review. Please remember to bring these things to your appointment: your inhalers and spacer, your Personalised Asthma Action Plan and your peak flow meter. Many thanks, [Practice name/ lead clinician]
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Letter template
Resource: Letter invite to asthma review
Dear Patient, Please call to book your asthma review appointment. Asthma reviews are essential to ensure you’re on the right treatment, to reduce your symptoms and to lower your risk of asthma attacks. Many people don’t realise their asthma could be better controlled. Did you know that good asthma control means you will rarely or never have symptoms? Or that if you need three or more salbutamol (blue) inhalers a year, this could mean your asthma control needs improvement? This Asthma + Lung webpage explains how to get the most out of your review: https://bit.ly/3yoKrJ7 For more information about asthma and good control, please read this leaflet bit.ly/3EmhyRT or watch this video https://bit.ly/3Vaqfoh. To learn more about inhaler devices and the environment, please read this leaflet https://bit.ly/3fSys0h or watch this video https://bit.ly/3T90yTn. We look forward to seeing you soon for your asthma review. Please remember to bring these things to your appointment: your inhalers and spacer, your Personalised Asthma Action Plan and your peak flow meter. Many thanks, [Practice name/ lead clinician]
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Clinical update session
Organise a clinical update session to optimise asthma reviews. Invite all clinical staff who undertake asthma reviews.
Watch the educational videos on improving asthma reviews and explaining asthma to patients. You may also wish to look how other resources may support asthma reviews such as the visual aid for optimising asthma reviews and the asthma airways diagram.
You may wish to discuss which asthma template people find most useful for conducting a review.
Using placebo devices: Discuss and practice inhaler technique for the commonly used inhalers or those in your local guidance
Discuss non-pharmacological elements of asthma management. You may wish to show the patient resources available on the asthma and lung UK website.
- Very brief advice on smoking
- Understanding the link between air pollution and asthma symptoms can help people to manage their asthma. We have a separate project on this.
- Staying active, breathing exercises and singing regularly as part of a group can reduce asthma symptoms and improve general health and wellbeing.
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Re-audit
Consider re-doing this project after a certain amount of time has passed (e.g. 3-6 months) in order to double check optimisation.
Top tip
What I have done: CQC, picture, added 're-audit' step
What still needs doing: case study (?), top tips
How to scale this project up or down
| Please note - Use of this project requires NetworkPLUS membership. If you would like to share this project with others, please invite them to purchase their own membership—access must not be shared with non-members. |
You could upscale this project by taking it to your PCN pharmacy team to implement across all practices in your PCN. You could go wider and suggest the ICB medicines optimisation team includes it in a Pharmacy Quality Scheme.
Case study
Have you completed this QIP?
Tell us a little about your project and enter your data in order to generate a certificate showing the cost and carbon savings and other probable benefits. This project may help with CQC evidence submission (see disclaimers).
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