As part of QOF, patients should have a Personalised Asthma Action Plan agreed when the patient attends for their annual asthma review.  The PAAP should include information about how to step-up and step-down inhalers, and how to respond to acute exacerbations.  It is important that when making these plans that patients understand what they are, and it is best to use the term Personalised Asthma Action Plan.

Pharmacies have a new Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS).  There are many domains in this PQS, one being respiratory.  As part of the respiratory domain pharmacies will be asking patients with asthma whether or not they have a Personalised Asthma Action Plan (PAAP).  If a patient reports that they do not have a PAAP, pharmacies will signpost the patients back to their GP practice.  To avoid confusion for the patient and reduce the instances of patients been sent back to practices, ensure that patients with asthma understand their PAAP.