ABSTRACT
Emergency departments (EDs) provide treatment to patients with emergent conditions such as asthma. Traditionally, 60-80% of asthma patients can be successfully treated in the first 3-4 hr (1-4). When initial therapy does not successfully resolve the asthma exacerbation, the patient is admitted to the hospital. With the use of an observation unit, the treatment regimen initiated in the ED can be extended. With an additional 8 hr of treatment the physician can avoid hospitalization in 80% of patients who would otherwise need hospitalization (5,6). Presently 53% of funds used for the care of asthmatic patients is for hospitalization during acute attacks. A more robust outpatient approach to the treatment of the asthmatic patient with the use of observation units can dramatically lower the overall true cost of services for this common serious condition.
