EMBRACE Severe Asthma Programme
Swaffham and Downham PCN
Practice Pro-Forma
A new virtual Severe Asthma case finding, and remote triage service is being run for patients in this PCN.
We are supporting primary care across the East of England by remotely reviewing, risk stratifying, directly engaging with patients, and for those that consent - efficiently managing both baseline testing (FeNO, Spirometry, blood Eosinophils) and the onward referral to specialist clinic of those patients identified as meeting regional criteria.
Patient education will be provided to all participating patients and a comprehensive individual report will be sent to GPs on completion of each review.
The aim of this project is to efficiently identify and manage those patients with poorly controlled and sub-optimally treated severe asthma. It is being overseen by the severe asthma specialists for the region.
Patient engagement will be provided through the ECLIPSE interface.
Your eligible patients (see initial triage criteria below) will be sent a text, using our patient engagement platform PEGASUS (Patient Engagement Governance Assuring Standardised User Support), the text directs them to a patient information zone where they can access their patient portal to complete a questionnaire where their relevant history and personal preferences regarding this project can be registered.
INITIAL TRIAGE CRITERIA
Diagnosis of asthma OR on regular inhalers with no diagnosis of respiratory disease
AND
≥ 1 emergency admission in last 12 months (respiratory)
or
≥ 6 SABAs in last 12 months
or
≥ 2 prescriptions of oral steroids (or recorded asthma exacerbations) in last 12 months
or
≥ 5mg maintenance oral steroids
This information zone will allow patients who are hearing or sight impaired to let us know their preferences for the programme and is equipped with translation services for 20 of the most common languages spoken in the UK to ensure equity of access.
This work will happen in tandem with your practice, the engagement will not create any additional work for your practice but will allow your at-risk patients to be impactfully engaged with and will give you the latest clinical information relevant to your patient's asthma care.
Patients identified as being at high risk will be invited for a virtual screening appointment by the ECLIPSE Patient Support Team (Putting Patients First) and to have their baseline investigations (see above) carried out at Litcham Health Centre. Those patients meeting the agreed threshold for specialist review will be referred on to the local specialist asthma service via the standard ICS approved pathway.
June 2024
Project EMBRACE: Severe Asthma has been developed as part of a Joint Working initiative between PSL, and AstraZeneca UK.
Practice Letter: GB-56477
Lander page: GB-56478