Investing in Best Practices for Asthma: A Business Case

An increasingly robust evidence base shows widespread improvements in the health of people with asthma when primary and specialist care are supplemented by non-clinical interventions tailored to the individual. Both the research and practice-based literature show that these interventions— including in-depth asthma education, home environmental assessments, and mitigation of exposures that trigger asthma—can markedly improve patients’ quality of life, and often decrease urgent medical encounters. The research literature on the economics of these interventions makes a compelling case, from a business standpoint, for investing in asthma education and in-home environmental interventions as key elements of a comprehensive asthma management program. Yet despite this evidence, people with asthma often do not have access to comprehensive asthma education and in-home environmental interventions, nor are these services adequately paid for by insurance.