Clear communication for better asthma control in adults – QI&CPD – Category 2

Australia has one of the highest rates of asthma in the world. The way in which clinicians perceive their patients’ asthma control may influence asthma management. A sub-study of the Australian Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) program surveyed 2563 patients from 103 GPs. Asthma control was measured using the Asthma Control Questionnaire 5-item version (ACQ-5). GPs believed asthma was well controlled in 74.5% of patients and 77.4% of patients felt that asthma had little or no impact on their lives. However, the grouped ACQ- 5 scores showed only 52.2% patients to be classified as ‘well controlled’ and 31.8% ‘uncontrolled’, suggesting that the patients’ asthma was less well controlled than either GPs or patients perceived.