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ℹ️ Introduction
This article explains how to use the Ardens asthma resources to support the identification, diagnosis, review and ongoing management of patients with asthma. By the end of this article, you will understand how to use the Ardens templates and reports to support structured asthma care and identify patients who may require further assessment or review.
Background
Patients with asthma require regular assessment and review to support appropriate diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management. Structured consultations help practices record clinical information consistently, support self-management and identify patients who may benefit from further investigation, changes to treatment or additional support.
How Ardens Can Help
Ardens provides a range of asthma resources to support clinicians throughout the patient pathway, including:
Asthma template to support structured assessment, diagnosis and review
Reports to identify patients requiring assessment or review
Clinical alerts and prompts to support appropriate management
Formulary guidance to support medication review and prescribing
Links to relevant clinical and patient resources to support ongoing asthma care
How to Access the Resources
🧑⚕️Presentation
Possible Conditions
The possible condition templates provide information and tools to help clinicians consider a potential diagnosis of Asthma and identify patients who may require further investigation.
Each template includes the presentation, possible risk factors, any red flags and relevant scored assessment tools.
📋Diagnosis
Case Finding
The Case Finding reports can be used to identify patients who may have undiagnosed Asthma or who require further clinical assessment. They help practices highlight patients who may benefit from further investigation, supporting clinicians in determining whether additional assessment is appropriate.
The reports can be used as part of ongoing practice reviews to identify patients who may otherwise have gone unrecognised and to help inform decisions about further investigation
Diagnosis
For patients who do not yet have a confirmed Asthma diagnosis, the Diagnosis page of the Asthma template supports the review and recording of relevant investigations as part of the clinical assessment process.
Investigations that can be reviewed and recorded include:
Spirometry
Peak flow
FeNO
The results of these investigations can help inform the clinician’s assessment and support decisions about whether a Asthma diagnosis is appropriate.
Register
For patients with Asthma, the Asthma Registers provide an overview of the practice’s Asthma population, supporting ongoing review and monitoring.
Patients can be reviewed according to a range of criteria, including:
Diagnosis
Medication
Disease severity
Other relevant clinical information
This allows practices to review their Asthma population, monitor relevant clinical information and identify patients who may benefit from further review or intervention.
🩺Management
Exacerbation
The COPD templates support the assessment and recording of COPD exacerbations, helping clinicians capture relevant clinical information consistently, including symptoms, severity and any treatment provided. Recording exacerbations accurately helps practices understand how frequently patients are experiencing flare-ups and identify those who may benefit from a review of their management plan, self-management support such as a rescue pack, or onward referral.
Formulary
Formularies provide access to relevant prescribing guidance to support the management of patients with Asthma. It can be used to review recommended medications and treatment options in line with best practice guidance, helping clinicians make informed prescribing decisions based on the patient’s clinical needs.
Referral
The Referral page of the Asthma template supports the referral of patients for further assessment, specialist input or additional care where required. It can be used to access relevant referral information and guidance, helping clinicians understand when a referral may be appropriate and support the next steps in the patient’s care.
⚠️ Please note: Practices should follow their local processes for generating referral documents and sending referrals once the template has been saved.
Exacerbation
Formulary
Press F12 on your keyboard (the template can remain open)
Open the All Template Launcher and select Clinical Templates > Respiratory > NEW Resources > Asthma > Asthma - Formulary
This protocol will guide you through the necessary prompts to safely and accurately issue the required medication
Referral
🔃Review
Annual Review
The Annual Review supports the ongoing monitoring and management of patients with Asthma, helping ensure relevant clinical information is reviewed and recorded.
GP Practices can use the Ardens LTC system to recall patients for their review and follow guidance in the LTC Review templates. Access this support article for further guidance on the Ardens LTC Recall System.
Whether clinicians use the LTC Review template or Asthma template, this will guide them through relevant Asthma monitoring requirements, structured clinical coding and management planning to support a comprehensive review.
The template also supports the identification of patients who may require additional attention, helping inform clinical decisions and ongoing care.
📈Evaluate
Following a consultation, Ardens reports can be used to monitor asthma activity, identify patients who require further follow-up and support practices in evaluating the quality of respiratory care.
Performance Indicators
The Performance Indicators reports help practices monitor their performance against relevant asthma indicators and review progress against expected standards. Use these reports to understand current performance, identify areas where further action may be needed and monitor progress over time.
Activity
The Activity reports provide an overview of recorded asthma-related activity within the practice. They can be used to review activity completed, monitor progress and identify areas where further work may be required. Use these reports to support ongoing monitoring of asthma care and review whether relevant activity is being recorded.
Data Quality
The Data Quality reports help identify potential gaps or inconsistencies in the clinical information recorded for patients with asthma. These may affect the accuracy of reporting and the practice’s understanding of its asthma population. Use these reports to identify records that may need reviewing and to help ensure relevant clinical information is recorded accurately and consistently.
Insights
Ardens Manager provides dashboards and data insights to help practices understand their asthma population, monitor performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
Available to Ardens Manager National Subscribers the dashboards allow users to explore patient data, review performance against indicators and identify areas where further investigation or action may be beneficial. Detailed report breakdowns and trends over time can also support informed decision-making and help practices target reviews and interventions effectively.
Performance Indicators
Activity
Data Quality
❓FAQs
Can the templates be used during opportunistic consultations?
Yes. The Asthma templates can be launched from any consultation to record a structured assessment.
Are the templates aligned with national guidance?
Yes. The templates are designed to support national guidance and encourage consistent clinical recording.
Can I monitor Asthma activity across the practice?
Yes. The Activity and Register reports provide an overview of asthma prevalence, consultations and outstanding work.
Why does a patient still appear on a Asthma report after coding changes?
Check which type of report you are using first. Register reports, QOF/outstanding reports, case finders and recall workflows use different logic, so the same patient may appear differently in each. If a diagnosis has been entered in error or resolved, update the relevant coding and then rerun the current patient/report view.
When to use the ACOS template?
For SystmOne practices, use the ACOS consultation template when a patient has features of both asthma and COPD and the review needs to capture assessment and management relevant to both conditions in one consultation. Where local care-planning or prescribing decisions differ, follow the template prompts and local respiratory guidance.
🏫 Additional Support
To further your understanding of the Ardens resources:
Book training for your GP Practice, PCN or ICB
Contact our Support Team for support in real time