Comparative Effectiveness Research Study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings Demonstrated Asthma Patients Had Better Overall Results with Oral Controllers than Inhale...(s more than 22 million Americans. In 200...),Health

"It's important for physicians and health plans alike to know that 'one size fits all' does not apply when treating asthma patients," said Singer. "These results speak to the power of comparative effectiveness research and its ability to give physicians the information they need to customize treatment for patients in the real world."

Lead authors of the HealthCore study in the August edition of Mayo Clinical Proceedings were HealthCore researchers Hiangkiat Tan, Chaitanya Sarawate and Dr. Joseph Singer. Other authors included Dr. Kurt Elward, Dr. Rubin Cohen, Dr. Brian Smart, Dr. Michael Busk, Dr. James Lustig, Dr. Jeana O'Brien and Dr. Michael Schatz.

Both Elward and Schatz sit on the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, which develops guidelines for diagnosis and management of asthma.

The comparative effectiveness research study assessed the following outcomes: use of short-acting beta-agonists, use of oral corticosteroids, inpatient/emergency room visits, and total cost of care attributable to asthma during the 12-month period after the index date.

HealthCore retrospectively pulled the medical and pharmacy claims data of more than 55,000 patients from eight health plans who had used at least one of six types of asthma controller medications between 2003 and 2005. The study was conducted in collaboration with a scientific steering committee consisting of physicians recommended by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Association of Allergy and Immunology.

These data were integrated with quality-of-life sur
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