Asthma Medication-2

Asthma Medication 
Asthma medications generally fall into two categories: quick relief medication and long-term control medications.

  • Quick relief medications (bronchodilators) open the airways by relaxing the muscles around the bronchial tubes. Bronchodilators are taken when symptoms begin to occur or when they are likely to occur (e.g., prior to recess, physical education classes, or sports events).  Albuterol is a bronchodilator.
  • Long-term control medications generally are anti-inflammatory medications and taken daily on a long-term basis to gain and maintain control of persistent asthma, even in the absence of symptoms.

Student-Specific Albuterol
Students may possess or possess and self-administer asthma medication if authorization is signed every year by a parent and provider.  If the student is not able to possess or self-administer their medication, the medication should be kept in an unlocked, but secure location.  All student-specific medication (including inhalers) must have a signed medication authorization (or AAP/EAP) on file that is updated every year.

Stock Albuterol
During the 2019 Utah State Legislative session lawmaker passed a bill allowing any public or private school to stock albuterol for use in students who:

  • Have a known diagnosis of asthma by a healthcare provider, and
  • Have a current AAP/EAP on file with the school
  • Are showing symptoms of an asthma emergency as shown in that student’s AAP/EAP.
  •  -2025 legislative update May 7 any student can receive stock albuterol in an emergency. 

Documentation

The school’s written policy should include documentation of medication given at school and the practice for administering medications.  Each dose of medication administered or witnessed by school staff should be documented on a medication log in ink or electronically.  This log becomes a permanent health record for parents and health care providers and provides legal protection to those who assist with medications at school.  It also helps ensure students receive medications as prescribed, and can help reduce medication errors (UDOH, 2017).

The medication log should contain the following information:

  • Student name
  • Prescribed medication and dosage
  • Schedule for medication administration
  • Name(s) and signature(s)/initial(s) or electronic identification of individual(s) authorized and trained to supervise administration of medications
  • Whether the medication administered was the student’s own albuterol or stock albuterol.

Medication Errors
A medication incident or error report form should be used to report medication errors and must be filled out every time a medication error occurs. 

Routine errors include the following:

  • Wrong student
  • Wrong medication
  • Wrong dosage
  • Wrong time
  • Wrong route

All medication incident or error reports should be shared between the school nurse, the parent or guardian, and other appropriate school and health care personnel according to school policy. The school should retain all medication error forms.

The Poison Control number is (800) 222-1222 and may need to be consulted for medication errors.