Young Patients Need to Refill Their Asthma Meds
- Identifying asthmatic patients, who haven’t processed refills
- Contacting in groups of five each week until every patient has been reached
- Communicating the benefits of inhaled corticosteroids
What can your team do to proactively reach out to patients to help them manage their chronic conditions?
Taking asthma medication is important, especially for the younger patients because it helps to reduce flare-ups and emergency room visits. A team in Colorado noticed a number of their patients weren’t refilling their medications — patients often stop when they feel better — and children have the lowest refill rates for inhaled corticosteroids. So they chose five patients each week, ages 5 to 17, who hadn’t refilled their prescriptions in more than a year. The team contacted 1,100 members and were able to increase the refill rate of inhaled corticosteroids for this group from 43 percent to 60 percent.
Asthma medication is effective, but patients often stop taking it when they feel better. This can lead to attacks so it’s important to encourage these patients to refill their meds.
Encouraging young asthma patients to take their meds is important for their care and keeps them out of the ER. Pictured are Kaiser Permanente Highland Ranch Pediatrician/Director of Physician Experience Katie Richardson (left) and patient Rachel Marie Moore.
success rate of patients refilling asthma medications