by Jacqueline Trovato

Created on: May 22, 2009   Last Updated: July 10, 2009

When Should You See an Asthma Specialist?

As a patient with asthma, you manage your disease on a day-to-day basis. You continually make decisions about what treatment options to use and when they should be taken. But if you have not been given proper guidance from the start, the day-to-day decisions you make could lead to serious health problems. With good and thorough instruction from your doctor, you should expect to control, and even prevent, asthma symptoms with few limitations to your lifestyle. The key is to get this guidance from a qualified physician with experience in treating asthma patients. In most cases, this will be an asthma specialist: either an allergist or a pulmonologist.

In today's cost-conscious health care environment, managed care companies often limit our access to specialists. This means that many of us must see primary care physicians, usually a family physician, for our asthma care. Unfortunately, even the best-trained family physician typically does not know as much about asthma treatment as does a specialist. How could he? A family physician sees patients with a wide variety of illnesses; everything from a sprained ankle to strep throat. His time with each patient is often limited by the number of patients he must see, as well as by the cost-conscious managed care company that is reimbursing him for his efforts. And with rapid advances in medical technology and frequent introductions of new treatment therapies, many busy family physicians cannot find the time to stay up-to-date on the latest treatments for asthma.

Great Expectations

If you are currently seeing a family physician for your asthma care, but you still experience asthma symptoms, you should consider seeking the care of an asthma specialist. But how do you know when to ask for a referral?

According to the National Institutes of Health expert panel report, patients with asthma should be referred to a specialist when they:

Have difficulty achieving or maintaining control of their condition.

Experience a life-threatening asthma attack.

Are not meeting the goals of asthma therapy after three to six months of treatment, or are not responding to current therapy.

Have symptoms that are unusual or difficult to diagnose.

Have severe hay fever, sinusitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or other respiratory conditions that complicate their asthma or their diagnosis.

Need additional diagnostic tests to determine the severity of their asthma

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