Quality Improvement

The Asthma Guidelines Implementation Steps & Tools (GIST) project was funded in 2009 by the National Asthma Control Initiative (NACI) to develop a program that makes it easier for primary care clinicians to use the NHLBI asthma guidelines in their everyday care of patients with asthma. The Michigan Department of Community Health gathered a statewide team of experts in asthma and practice redesign, and created a set of tools and a program to implement them.

In 2011, NACI funded a second phase for GIST, using asthma champions to promote GIST with health professional audiences, and new practices are welcome to use the GIST materials to improve their asthma care.

GIST Materials can be individualized to suit your organization/practice.

• Questions About Your Breathing – A tool to help patients provide info about their breathing symptoms and history
  • Given to patients being seen for respiratory complaints, no current diagnosis of asthma
  • Usually given to patient before seeing clinician
• Asthma Control Test™ – A validated tool to assess patient's level of asthma control
• Asthma Diagnosis Tool – To help clinician diagnose asthma and assess severity
  • Clinician uses with patient being seen for respiratory complaints
• Asthma Patient Follow-Up Tool – To help clinician assess level of asthma control then take steps to maintain, increase or decrease treatment
  • Clinician can use with patient being seen for symptomatic asthma visit, scheduled asthma visit, or visit for other reason
• Stepwise Approach to Managing Asthma – To help clinician determine medication needs and management approach
  • Use steps as initiated on Diagnosis and Follow-Up Tools to determine medication type and dosage, adherence and environmental checks
• Asthma Action Plan – No set plan for GIST, but many good plans available if needed.

Pilot Project-Asthma Childcare Checklist was used during the Head Start and Childcare Center Walkthrough.