Comprehensive care in asthma treatment: useful information for the health-care manager

Abstract

On August 29 (2020), a virtual meeting was held with managers, representatives of patient associations and physicians involved in the treatment of asthma, in order to discuss the need and the feasibility of incorporating new technologies for the treatment of this disease. Asthma is a condition characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways. It is the main cause of school and work absenteeism and it is estimated that it is the cause of up to 5 daily deaths in our country, annually. In a survey carried out at a Health Care Plan, with patients spread across the country, it was observed that this pathology (associated with COPD) affects almost 7% of its insured persons and that the use of the plan was, in this group, 1.9x higher for consultations, 1.6x higher for exams, 2.5x higher for therapies and 2.9x higher for hospitalizations, resulting in a 25.5% increase in the global health care expenses. It was observed that it is highly important that managers have a deep knowledge of his portfolio and that they prioritize the entire process of patient care. In this way, acting directly in the control of the severity of the pathology, they will have the best quality of life results and will restrict the number of patients who will need more modern and also more expensive medications, with obvious impact on costs. Asthma still does not have, for the manager of a Private Health Operator, in Brazil, such importance in the expenses of his portfolio. The new immunobiologicals are useful, effective and some counterpart on the part of the manufacturer, such as, for example, the risk-share agreements, may be necessary for the incorporation of this into the arsenal of products that will be made available to patients that need them.