Federal and State Programs Address the Burden of Asthma
The prevalence of asthma in Pennsylvania makes improving the quality of asthma care vital.
Asthma rates in children in grades K-12 increased 49 percent (from 6.6 percent to 9.8 percent) from 1997-2003, a report from the state Department of Health found. In 2003, 201,088 school-age children and more than 1.1 million adults in the commonwealth were affected by asthma.
According to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, inpatient visits for asthma cost $273 million dollars in 2002, the report said.
Demographics in the report may help physicians identify patients at risk for asthma:
- Females (10.3 percent) are more likely to have asthma than males (6.1 percent).
- Black, non-Hispanics (11.5 percent) are more likely to have asthma than Caucasians (7.9 percent).
- Those who smoke, are overweight (BMI of greater than 25), live in rural areas, lack health care insurance, or have lower education levels are at higher risk.
Anti-inflammatory and long-acting beta-agonist medications can control the hyper-responsiveness of the airways in asthma, so even mild to moderate persistent asthma can be managed. Patients need reminders to adhere to these controller medications. They can prevent or diminish acute attacks — reducing morbidity and mortality in asthma patients and decreasing the necessity for inpatient visits.
Patients also need to know the difference between their rescue and controller inhalers so they use them appropriately and in a timely manner. It may be helpful to suggest they mark them with green (controller) and red (rescue) dots using magic markers to be sure they do not use them at the wrong times.
Asthma programs include:
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Last Updated: 8/14/2008