Vol. 21 •Issue 19 • Page 29
Book Review
Pocket Guide Offers Helpful Info for Asthma Patients
The prevalence of asthma is well-documented. We know health care costs for repeated emergency room visits and hospital admissions for asthma are exorbitant.
But these costs can be minimized through improved patient education, proper monitoring of symptoms and monitoring of progressive deviations from baseline function.
With the disparity of learning abilities and educational techniques, however, many people with asthma and their caregivers do not fully understand the information given to them or they downplay the importance of that info until an exacerbation occurs; and then they cannot recall the proper way to proceed, necessitating a trip to the hospital.
Pulmonary specialist Thomas F. Plaut, MD, offers One Minute Asthma: What You Need to Know, a soft-cover pocket guide that is the perfect educational tool for asthma patients and those who care for them.
This $6 book, an update to prior editions, contains pertinent information in a concise format with accompanying illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions on the utility of asthma action plans, peak flow measurements and the multitude of medications and delivery devices.
As noted in the introduction, the text is written at a fifth-grade level.
It is one of the most comprehensive patient education materials I have seen, and its value is endless. It functions as a handout for patients for home use and as a waiting-room reader for parents.
Information contained within its 80-pages is invaluable to enhance the quality of life of those with asthma while working to minimize symptoms, exacerbations and hospital visits, thereby saving millions in health care dollars.
David Kissin is a Maine practitioner.
One Minute Asthma: What You Need to Know
By Thomas F. Plaut, MD
Pedipress Inc., 2008
