More than 18 percent of New York City's children suffer from asthma, and the disease is the single greatest health-related cause for missed school days. New York City has almost twice the rate of childhood asthma hospitalizations as the rest of the nation, and in some neighborhoods, asthma hospitalization rates for children up to age 14 are nearly four times the national rate. According to the New York City Health Department, one in eight New Yorkers over the age of 18 have been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their life, a figure that is almost 30 percent higher than the national average.

HHC facilities are fully engaged in treating asthma by following best clinical treatment standards, ensuring that primary care physicians prescribe the most effective asthma medications and create a customized asthma action plan for each patient. Education and outreach to patients and families in the community also play a major role.

Adults or children with severe asthma too often find themselves hospitalized, if their asthma is not well-controlled.  Fortunately, our clinicians have been increasingly effective in helping patients manage their asthma and stay out of emergency rooms and hospital beds.

The data below reflects that our total hospital admissions for patients diagnosed with asthma has decreased significantly over the last three years.

Asthma - Total Admissions
2004 - 2007

Hospital-Specific Data

While declining asthma-related admissions is good news, it does not conclusively demonstrate that better chronic disease management among our primary care providers is responsible for the decline.  Some HHC patients with asthma may be hospitalized outside our system, and some of the patients who are hospitalized with asthma in our system may be receiving their routine asthma and primary care from a community physician or non-HHC facility.

To measure our effectiveness in helping our patients better manage their disease, we have used claims data to track those patients who are members of HHC's health plan, MetroPlus, and who receive their primary care from an HHC provider.  Because we can track all hospital admissions for these asthma patients, even if they occur outside our system, it most accurately reflects whether our care is reducing the incidence of hospitalizations for asthma patients under our care.

The data below represents the rate of hospitalization for more than 12,000 adult and pediatric asthma patients under our care and insured by MetroPlus, and it shows that our efforts over the last three years are steadily reducing the incidence of hospitalization among our asthma patients. 

Pediatric Asthma Hospital Admission Rate
for MetroPlus Patients*
2004 - 2007

Facility-Specific Data

Below is similar information for adult patients. The management of asthma differs in adults and children, therefore these two graphs may not be directly comparable.

Adult Asthma Hospital Admission Rate
for MetroPlus Patients*
2004 - 2007

Facility-Specific Data

*Percent of asthma hospital admissions for MetroPlus patients, who all receive primary care from HHC providers. Effective preventive care is demonstrated by a reduction in hospital admissions.