Hospital-based inter-professional strategy to reduce in-patient admissions and emergency department visits for pediatric asthma.

Pediatric asthma is a common reason for emergency department (ED) visits and in-patient hospital admissions. Evidence demonstrates that asthma management initiated in the ED has limited benefit unless followed by ongoing coordinated inter-professional care (IPC). The Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) of Barrie, Ontario, has developed a best practice model of care for pediatric asthma. Primary care providers and ED physicians are actively encouraged to refer children with any recurrent respiratory problems consistent with asthma to the Paediatric Asthma Clinic (PAC). Quarterly PAC visits with a certified asthma educator and a pediatrician include lung function measurement, written action plans and primary care provider communication. Ongoing outcome monitoring of patients receiving IPC has revealed that, compared with 12 months prior to enrolment in the PAC, patients show a two-thirds decrease in asthma-related ED visits and an 85% decrease in admissions. The PAC has contributed to an ongoing decline in the rates of pediatric asthma-related ED visits and admissions at RVH, which are currently less than half the rates seen at our peer hospitals. IPC for chronic diseases is best practice, and our model of care for pediatric asthma continues to provide critical data demonstrating and supporting the advantages of IPC in chronic disease management. RVH modifies practice and policy to meet best practices, optimizing the care provided to children with pediatric asthma.