• Ewan Donnachie, Robert Mutschler, Frank Hofmann, and Manfred Keller.
• Institute of General Practice, Technische Universität München, Orleansstraße 47, Munich, Germany. michael.mehring@lrz.tum.de
• Respir Care. 2013 Jul 1;58(7):1170-7.

BackgroundThe primary aim of the disease management program (DMP) for patients with asthma is to improve health outcomes and to reduce costs. Five years after its introduction in Germany, no consensus has yet been reached as to whether DMP has been effective in reaching these goals.ObjectiveTo evaluate the DMP for asthma in Bavaria using routinely collected subject medical records.MethodsA longitudinal population-based study encompassing over 100,000 DMP participants between 2006 (when the program began) and 2010.ResultsThe prescription rate of oral corticosteroids dropped from 15.7% in 2006 to 13.6% in 2007, and again from 7.5% in 2008 to 5.9% in 2010 (P < .001). The proportion of subjects with asthma self-management education increased from 4.4% to 23.4% (P < .001). Utilization of an individual asthma action plan increased from 40.3% to 69.3% (P < .001). Hospitalization decreased from 2.8% to 0.7% (P < .001).ConclusionsIn the first 4 years of DMP there was an improvement in pharmacotherapy and patient self management. The proportion of subjects requiring hospitalization decreased. Our results suggest that the German DMP for asthma has been effective in enhancing the quality of care in regard to an improved symptom frequency, adherence to guidelines, pharmacotherapy, and hospitalization.

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