ATP / AAP's

Hello! - I am a Certified School Nurse in NJ.... we too utilize the ATP/AAP's, however it is extremely frustrating that the majority of them, when and if submitted to the health office, are incomplete, particularly in reference to the PEAK Flows not recorded....  This simple tool can aid our assessment - and intervention - tremendously, with the utmost 'best outcomes', yet the PCP's do not fill it in--is there anyway this one point can be emphasized at National MD Conferencing, along with increasing patient / family education within their medical offices during client appointments, as so many families are under the misnomer that "They've outgrown it", or "I don't need to use my inhaler anymore.... I haven't been to the doctors for it in years"... phone calls need to be made to these homes reminding them to be seen for regular, yearly appointments so that School Nurses will have the needed information - in the form of current assessment tools - pertaining to all asthmatic students, which will parlay into best practices and best outcomes.

 

 

Thank you for your question and comment.  We completely agree.  It is an imporatnt message that needs to be broadcast.  The Colorado Department of Education is incredibly supportive and has created a state wide AAP which helps.   We have worked hard in the school based program, home visit program, and the clinic to get these to school.  I will say that we no longer use peak flows because we find taht it is one more thing for families to remember and can be a barrier to completion and plan use.   

You may also wish to visit http://www.asthmacommunitynetwork.org/node/17054. This question also is answered there. Thank you.

While peak flows are not commonly used in the school asthma treatment plans we do include peak flow meters in our asthma toolkits provided to participants in our program to help them to understand asthma self care skills and to begin conversations with the HCP. We also have participants who say they have outgrown asthma but when they complete the forms have either signs of uncontrolled asthma and or exacerbations. It is a myth that is hard to dispell.