The Bronx Improving Asthma Care for Children Project
Affinity Health Plan sought to address the widespread problem of childhood asthma in New York City through a collaborative effort to establish an early detection, early intervention process coupled with state-of-art pediatric asthma treatment methods and community- and home-based family education. Affinity developed strategies to improve its administrative practices to identify asthma members early, stratify them, and offer case management services; to provide in-home patient education and improve self-management skills; and to improve clinical practice through case-based physician training. Program efforts reduced childhood asthma utilization and costs significantly, particularly expensive inpatient hospital stays and emergency department visits, and, overall, the plan received a marked return on investment. Results suggest that these efforts can be replicated to improve clinical outcomes and reduce the high costs associated with asthma.
