[The National Disease Management Guideline for Asthma--what's new from the point of view of general practice].
The National Disease Management Guideline for Asthma was developed through a consensus process that involved different medical societies, thus constituting a novelty in the improvement of the care for asthma patients in Germany. The German Association of General Practitioners (DEGAM) also participated in the development of the asthma guideline. The implementability of this new guideline in general practice will be discussed on the basis of the chapters that are most important to primary care physicians. The guideline offers many relevant aspects for the management of asthma in general practice. In future editions, the levels of evidence underlying the statements about diagnosis and therapy should be more elaborate, thus providing more concise decision aids for physicians in daily practice. In particular, the implementation aids on the guideline's website could be used to translate the content of the guidelines into practice. Continuous quality improvement and the further development of the implementation process would be most important in overcoming the cross-sectoral barriers of the German healthcare system and thus optimizing the quality of care.
Schneider
Antonius
A
Abteilung Allgemeinmedizin und Versorgungsforschung, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg. antonius.schneider@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Niebling
Wilhelm
W
D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care