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Despite tremendous advances in the past 2 decades, asthma continues to be one of the most common underdiagnosed, undertreated, and mismanaged conditions. Yet, there is good quality care available that can drastically improve a patient’s quality of life, if applied according to evidence-based guidelines, which are freely available to all physicians. In a brief review, Timothy J. Craig, DO,1 has provided case-based examples of appropriate ways to approach patients—a “must read” for busy practitioners attempting to do right by their patients.

Despite the development and availability of new treatments and prescription medications, asthma remains a widespread chronic health problem in the United States. Achieving asthma control in patients is a resource-intensive enterprise that requires close assessment and personalized management. Asthma is simply not a disease that can be remedied with prescription medications alone. In 2007, the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program released their Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. The guidelines provide assistance and direction to health care professionals in the assessment and treatment of patients with asthma. Two cases are presented to illustrate the treatment process in light of the Guidelines and the outcomes of these patients, who have varying degrees of support, education, and assessment of adherence to an asthma treatment plan. J Am Osteopath Assoc . 2014;114(11 suppl 3):eS4-eS15 doi:10.7556/jaoa.2014.165