# Integrating Patient-Reported Outcomes into Routine Primary Care: Monitoring Asthma Between Visits

> **NIH AHRQ R18** · RAND CORPORATION · 2020 · $507,126

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Uncontrolled asthma impairs quality of life for patients and is commonly associated with utilization of high-cost
healthcare resources. Current clinical guidelines recommend frequent monitoring of asthma symptoms in the
ambulatory setting to avoid clinical deterioration and emergency care. However, useful tools and practice
models for intensive symptom monitoring are unavailable and adherence to these guidelines is poor. We have
developed a simple mobile health (mHealth) app that can be installed on patients' smartphones to track and
self-report asthma symptoms, and a practice model for clinics to monitor the patient-reported symptoms as part
of routine care. As part of our current pilot, we have successfully implemented this app and practice model in a
pulmonary subspecialty clinic and found high patient adherence, strong support for continued participation after
6 months of usage, and minimal burden on clinicians. The purpose of this project is to scale and spread this
novel health IT-enabled practice model for the collection of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) between visits to
the primary care setting. Specifically, we will (1) adapt our practice model and health IT tools to the primary
care setting; (2) implement the health IT-enabled practice model in four primary care clinics affiliated with our
accountable care organization that serves a diverse population, including Spanish-speaking and low health
literacy patients; and (3) rigorously evaluate the effect on asthma-related patient-reported quality of life and
healthcare utilization in a randomized controlled trial. If successful, this project will provide new knowledge
about how to scale and spread a health IT-enabled practice model that incorporates the collection asthma-
related PROs into routine primary care, the setting in which most asthma patients are treated. This work is
innovative because it adapts an existing and proven health IT-enabled practice model that leverages
widespread adoption of smartphones among patients and is guided by a novel framework specifically designed
to scale and spread health technology innovations. Furthermore, our findings will produce rigorous evidence
regarding impact, thereby providing a foundation for developing a set of best practices to scale and spread this
or similar health IT-enabled practice models for between-visit collection of PROs for patients with asthma as
well as other conditions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9984366
- **Project number:** 5R18HS026432-03
- **Recipient organization:** RAND CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert Samuel Rudin
- **Activity code:** R18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $507,126
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9984366

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9984366, Integrating Patient-Reported Outcomes into Routine Primary Care: Monitoring Asthma Between Visits (5R18HS026432-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9984366. Licensed CC0.

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