Organisation of asthma care: what difference does it make?

Asthma is one of the main causes of chronic ill health in the UK but management of the disease is of variable quality. This article summarises a systematic review of the literature held on the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE) and highlights the dearth of reliable evidence on effective ways to organise the care of people with asthma. The number of firm findings is limited but care delivered by specialists appears to be more effective, and there is evidence to suggest that care shared between GPs and specialist consultants is the cheapest option.