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Asthma referrals : A key component of asthma management that needs to be addressed

Price, David ; Bjermer, Leif LU ; Bergin, David A. and Martinez-Leal, Rafael (2017) In Journal of Asthma and Allergy 10. p.209-223
Abstract

Heterogeneity of asthma and difficulty in achieving optimal control are the major challenges in the management of asthma. To help attain the best possible clinical outcomes in patients with asthma, several guidelines provide recommendations for patients who will require a referral to a specialist. Such referrals can help in clearing the uncertainty from the initial diagnosis, provide tailored treatment options to patients with persistent symptoms and offer the patients access to health care providers with expertise in the management of the asthma; thus, specialist referrals have a substantial impact on disease prognosis and the patient’s health status. Hurdles in implementing these recommendations include lack of their dissemination... (More)

Heterogeneity of asthma and difficulty in achieving optimal control are the major challenges in the management of asthma. To help attain the best possible clinical outcomes in patients with asthma, several guidelines provide recommendations for patients who will require a referral to a specialist. Such referrals can help in clearing the uncertainty from the initial diagnosis, provide tailored treatment options to patients with persistent symptoms and offer the patients access to health care providers with expertise in the management of the asthma; thus, specialist referrals have a substantial impact on disease prognosis and the patient’s health status. Hurdles in implementing these recommendations include lack of their dissemination among health care providers and nonadherence to these guidelines; these hurdles considerably limit the implementation of specialist referrals, eventually affecting the rate of referrals. In this review, recommendations for specialist referrals from several key international and national asthma guidelines and other relevant published literature are evaluated. Furthermore, we highlight why referrals are not happening, how this can be improved, and ultimately, what should be done in the specialist setting, based on existing evidence in published literature.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Asthma, Disease management, Primary care physicians, Referral, Specialization
in
Journal of Asthma and Allergy
volume
10
pages
15 pages
publisher
Dove Medical Press Ltd.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85029506949
  • pmid:28794645
  • wos:000406346600001
ISSN
1178-6965
DOI
10.2147/JAA.S134300
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5ee24763-ee17-4650-a0d0-a320f10414be
date added to LUP
2017-10-10 08:44:07
date last changed
2024-06-24 01:50:00
@article{5ee24763-ee17-4650-a0d0-a320f10414be,
  abstract     = {{<p>Heterogeneity of asthma and difficulty in achieving optimal control are the major challenges in the management of asthma. To help attain the best possible clinical outcomes in patients with asthma, several guidelines provide recommendations for patients who will require a referral to a specialist. Such referrals can help in clearing the uncertainty from the initial diagnosis, provide tailored treatment options to patients with persistent symptoms and offer the patients access to health care providers with expertise in the management of the asthma; thus, specialist referrals have a substantial impact on disease prognosis and the patient’s health status. Hurdles in implementing these recommendations include lack of their dissemination among health care providers and nonadherence to these guidelines; these hurdles considerably limit the implementation of specialist referrals, eventually affecting the rate of referrals. In this review, recommendations for specialist referrals from several key international and national asthma guidelines and other relevant published literature are evaluated. Furthermore, we highlight why referrals are not happening, how this can be improved, and ultimately, what should be done in the specialist setting, based on existing evidence in published literature.</p>}},
  author       = {{Price, David and Bjermer, Leif and Bergin, David A. and Martinez-Leal, Rafael}},
  issn         = {{1178-6965}},
  keywords     = {{Asthma; Disease management; Primary care physicians; Referral; Specialization}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{209--223}},
  publisher    = {{Dove Medical Press Ltd.}},
  series       = {{Journal of Asthma and Allergy}},
  title        = {{Asthma referrals : A key component of asthma management that needs to be addressed}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/JAA.S134300}},
  doi          = {{10.2147/JAA.S134300}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}