Patient Education Materials

The AIRQ™ is a patient assessment tool intended to help identify patients 12 years of age and older whose health may be at risk because of uncontrolled asthma. This assessment is based on a series of patient-facing questions about asthma medications, respiratory symptoms, and utilization of health care resources. Depending on the patient’s responses to these questions, the patient will receive a score reflecting their level of asthma control. After completion of the AIRQ™, the patient and health care provider should discuss the responses to each of the individual questions, the total AIRQ™ score, and the patient’s level of asthma control, and form a treatment plan.

Visit https://www.airqscore.com/.

=A provider workspace with tools and education brought to you by PRECISION.

Visit https://www.theasthmaresourcecenter.com/.

This toolkit was developed by the stakeholders in the SAMPRO™ Summit Stakeholder Workforce.

Information about the EPA’s free Air Quality Flag Program.

Click here: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USEPAIAQ/bulletins/1e84add

As the nation’s 55 million children and 7 million employees return to over 130,000 schools, the national Coalition for Healthier Schools, coordinated by Healthy Schools Network, urges schools and their communities to ensure that school facilities are healthy places for all children. Parents, personnel, and communities can help by sharing a Back to School Toolkit with schools and education departments.

http://www.healthyschools.org/Coalition/

From the US EPA. Multiple articles, videos, and classes to help you promote a healthy learning environment at your school to reduce absenteeism, improve test scores and enhance student and staff productivity.

Click here: https://www.epa.gov/iaq-schools

Take the Indoor Air Quality Master Class Professional Training Webinar Series. This is comprised of ten 1-hour technical, core competency web-based trainings designed to build the capacity of school district staff across the country to start, improve, or sustain an IAQ management program.

Provides more detail about the EpiPen4Schools program, including participation statistics, survey results, and myths and facts. Download PDF.

Pharmaceutical Companies’ Programs:

Helpful Tips for the HCP:

1. Ask the Pharmaceutical representatives for their company/drug Prescription Assistance Programs (PAP) information
2. Needy Meds has a listing of available PAPs. As of October 2023, there are over 850 programs across multiple conditions/drugs
3. Become familiar with the various programs and educate all staff
4. Choose a point person in your facility to serve as patient advocate. Helping a patient qualify for assistance with a non-asthma/allergy medication lessens their medication financial burden and may allow them to afford asthma/allergy medications that lacks a PAP.
5. Make PAP information available to all patients

1. • Patient Information pamphlets
   • Handout of programs available (AAE website)
   • Manufacturer coupons (including web based “name of drug”.com)

6. Do not assume a patient does not qualify due to their income.

General Information:

Types of Prescription Assistance for patients:

• Programs, pharmaceutical specific and general programs
• Savings Cards
• Coupons
• Rebates
• Federal and State assistance programs

• • State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programscan be found at:  State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs (ncsl.org)

Prescription Assistance Programs:

• Eligibility
  • Income requirement varies from program to program
  • Income requirement may vary by state
  • Income requirement may be further determined by family size
  • Usually need proof of income (Federal Income Tax return, Social Security benefit statement or current income statement)
  • Private or government prescription coverage, including Medicare, may disqualify patient
  • Non-Formulary drug status may be considered a qualifier
  • Low-income Medicare patients may qualify for Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), aka “Extra Help”: Apply for Medicare Part D Extra Help program | SSA
  • S. resident (not necessarily U.S. citizen) or Green card necessary for most programs
• Several ways to access and/or submit enrollment forms
  • Internet
  • Mail
  • Fax
• Patients will need to sign authorization, as HIPAA rules apply
• May require signature of patient advocate other than the ordering physician and may need to be done by patient advocate in the state that they live
• Requires prescription or and may require form completed by ordering physician
• May require 90-day Mail order supply or Retail 30-day.
• Medications may be sent to physician’s office or to patient’s home, depending on the program
• Need to re-enroll the patient annually; re-enrollment forms required
• Need to notify the PAP when the patient no longer requires the prescription or assistance

Savings Cards / Coupons:

• Patients take these to their pharmacy
• May or may not require income eligibility
• May be an initial prescription only or include multiple refills
• Savings cards may need to be activated by the patient
• Patients may need separate prescription for “coupon” or initial free script
• Usually have an expiration date
• Usually discontinued when generic versions become available
• May not be used with Medicare Part D; see LIS/” ExtraHelp”

Other ways to help patients save:

Mail Order Pharmacies generally are less expensive.

• Patients need to manage their refills/renewals. To avoid processing delays patient can sign up for automated refill reminders, or autofill deliveries
• Convenient fax forms available for major mail order plans may lessen patient burden
• Generic medications, when available, are usually less expensive, Tier 1 for most insurance formularies.

• • Fingertip Formulary may be very beneficial to see what tier the prescribed medication is
  • Some insurances have e-prescribing integrated into EMRs that alert prescriber of drug tier/copay
  • Many insurances have on-line price search tools for patient use indicating in-network pharmacy options and associated cost of drug; may suggest alternative that prescriber may deem appropriate

Dee Mallam RN, AE-C Association of Asthma Educators
Nina Evans, BPharm, R.Ph, AE-C,
Updated October 2023