National Asthma Education and Prevention Program working group report on the cost effectiveness of asthma care

The cost effectiveness of asthma care is the first topic of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Task Force Report on the Cost Effectiveness, Quality of Care, and Financing of Asthma Care. This working group characterized the role of health economics in understanding optimal asthma management strategies. The report first reviews methods for economic evaluation of medical technologies, with a particular focus on cost-effectiveness analysis. Next, the report explores the nature and usefulness of several key asthma outcome measures, including clinical and symptom measures, measures of lung function, measures of functional status, and measures of health services utilization and cost. The working group also conducted a review of the literature on cost effectiveness of asthma patient education programs, pharmaceutical therapy, and a variety of alternative and adjunct interventions. The report concludes with recommendations for a standardized approach for economic evaluation study designs (e.g., common asthma outcomes, long-term follow-up, and studies with patients of different ages, socioeconomic statuses, and severity levels) and for an expansion in the number of such standardized asthma studies and cost-effectiveness analyses.