Creative Solutions to Asthma Management
Blue Cross of California
With over nine million children diagnosed with asthma in the United States, Blue Cross of California (BCC) chose asthma as one of the first areas for member disease management programs. BCC found that a standard asthma program could not meet the needs of all members in a culturally and linguistically diverse population. Asthma disproportionately affects the poor and disadvantaged: many of these members faced obstacles to effective healthcare including low health literacy, language barriers and migration for work. In response, BCC partnered with local organizations to leverage their strength in reaching underserved populations and giving their existing asthma management programs added strength.
Program Elements
- Asthma education materials were translated into 11 languages and re-written to be easy to read, even for members with low literacy and language proficiency. These more-accessible materials were used to encourage members to visit their doctors, discuss their medications and develop action plans. As a further incentive to complete an action plan, members are given a gift card that can be redeemed for one of many asthma-related incentive gifts, once signed by their physician.
- Additionally, members are eligible for a consultation with a pharmacist who can discuss the member's medication dosing, use and administration to drive home the points of their personal action plan.
Program Results
- The program was initially designed as a 30-minute scheduled consultation. However, it was determined that many patients did not keep these appointments. As a result, shorter, 10-minute "on demand" consultations with a pharmacist were implemented. This could be done at the time a prescription was filled, without an appointment. The number of members receiving a pharmacist consultation quadrupled after the introduction of the 10-minute format.
- Appropriate use of medication by participating members rose from 55 percent in 2001 to over 68 percent in 2003.
- In 2004, the number of members able to describe some of the action plan they reviewed with their doctors increased more than five percent compared to 2003 levels, indicating that they have a fuller understanding of their treatment.
Contact
John P. Monahan, M.P.H., SVP, 805-384-3511, john.monahan@wellpoint.com
