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Emergency Room Staff:
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During a severe asthma “attack” many people with asthma receive care from the emergency room. Unfortunately, many times patients do not follow-up with their family physicians. Due to this, it is important for emergency room staff have access to educational materials for people with asthma. It is understandable that it would be difficult for emergency room staff to take time out of their busy schedules to find asthma educational materials. IDEM has created a list of Resources that can be printed and handed out to interested patients.
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Recommend follow-up care with the patient’s family physician. This is essential. If the patient is experiencing severe exacerbations, their asthma management plan and/or medications may need to be adjusted. About 25 percent of people with asthma do not receive care from a family physician. Often these patients do not have health care insurance. Be sure to provide additional information to these patients.
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Recommend that patients with asthma receive an influenza vaccine. Respiratory illnesses (e.g., respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus, and rhinovirus) put added burden on the lungs of asthma patients.
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Provide an asthma action plan for each patient with asthma if they do not have one. Every plan should contain emergency contact numbers, peak flow readings, rescue medications, warning signs of an episode, action steps to take during an episode, and environmental triggers. IDEM has created an Asthma Action Plan that includes all of these elements. Be sure patients and their caregivers know how to read the plan. Encourage patients to take the plan to their physician to fill out.
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Provide patients with asthma trigger information. Once the patient’s asthma triggers have been identified, provide information about each of their known triggers. IDEM has created an evidence-based list of asthma triggers and fact sheets for each of them. For a quick-reference, provide IDEM’s Top 10 Ways to Reduce Asthma Triggers at Home. Environmental alterations must occur for each of the patient’s triggers.