National standards for asthma self-management education.
BACKGROUND
Asthma education reimbursement continues to be an issue in the United States. Among the greatest barriers is the lack of a standardized curriculum for asthma self-management education recognized by a physician society, non-physician health care professional society or association, or other appropriate source. The applicable Current Procedural Terminology codes for self-management education and training are 98960 through 98962, stating that "if a practitioner has created a training curriculum for educating patients on management of their medical condition, he or she may employ a non-physician health care professional to provide education using a standardized curriculum for patients with that disease." Without a standardized curriculum, reimbursement from payers is beyond reach.


OBJECTIVE
Representatives from the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology; American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology; American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology; American Lung Association; American Thoracic Society; National Asthma Educator Certification Board; American College of Chest Physicians; and Association of Asthma Educators gathered to write a standardized curriculum as a guideline for payer reimbursement.


METHODS
The Task Force began with a review of the American Lung Association and American Thoracic Society's Operational Standards for Asthma Education. Board members of the National Asthma Educator Certification Board incorporated comments, rationale, and references into the document.


RESULTS
This document is the result of final reviews of the standards completed by the Task Force and national health care professional organizations in September 2014.


CONCLUSIONS
This document meets the requirements of Current Procedural Terminology codes 98960 through 98962 and establishes the minimum standard for asthma self-management education when teaching patients or caregivers how to effectively manage asthma in conjunction with the professional health care team.
National Asthma Educator Certification Board, Gilbert, Arizona.
Antoinette
A
Gardner
American Lung Association, Chicago, Illinois.
Barbara
B
Kaplan
Association of Asthma Educators, Columbia, South Carolina.
Wendy
W
Brown
American Lung Association, Chicago, Illinois.
Diane
D
Krier-Morrow
American Lung Association, Chicago, Illinois.
Susan
S
Rappaport
American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Lynne
L
Marcus
American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Kathy
K
Conboy-Ellis
Association of Asthma Educators, Columbia, South Carolina.
Ann
A
Mullen
National Asthma Educator Certification Board, Gilbert, Arizona. Electronic address: ksrance@allergypartners.com.
Karen
K
Rance
Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, Palatine, Illinois.
Donald
D
Aaronson
D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012648:Self Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States