August 23, 2005
New Law Allows Asthma Self-Medication at School
Asthma inhalers will be among the supplies that some Montana children cram into their backpacks as they head back to school this fall.
Under a new law passed by the 2005 Legislature and effective July 1, students can now carry and self-administer asthma medicine while at school.
The law also includes guidance for access to backup medication while at school, including making a pre-determined plan on where the back-up medication is kept in case a child misplaces or forgets his inhaler.
The state Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has distributed copies of the "Montana Authorization to Carry and Self-Administer Asthma Medication" form to all school principals and school nurses, according to Wilda McGraw, a child health nurse consultant with DPHHS. A student's parent or legal guardian, along with the student's prescribing physician, must complete and sign the form before the student can legally carry and self-administer asthma medication while in school, at a school-sponsored activity, under supervision of school personnel, before or after normal school activities on school property, or while in transit to or from school or school-sponsored activities.
Schools that are already using their own "authorization to carry and self-administer" form may continue to do so as long as the form meets all provisions of the law and does not impose undue barriers for use of and access to asthma medication, McGraw said.
A copy of the "Montana Authorization to Carry and Self-Administer Asthma Medication" form is available on the DPHHS Web site at www.dphhs.mt.gov . Click on Programs & Services, then Forms & Applications. The form is also available from school officials.
The new law also specifies that, for a student to self-administer asthma medication while at school, the student must have an up-to-date "asthma action plan" from his health-care provider on file.
"As parents are taking care of the usual back-to-school tasks, this is a good time to schedule a well-asthma visit with their child's health-care provider to assure that the child's asthma management plan is current," McGraw said.
She also advised parents to:
- Make sure their child has asthma rescuer medications, holding chambers, and peak flow meters for both home and school.
- Make sure the child has access to her asthma medications and knows how to use them.
- Minimize the child's exposure to things that could trigger an asthma attack, such as secondhand smoke, mold, and pet dander.
- Schedule a flu-shot appointment with the child's health-care provider as soon as the vaccine becomes available.
Parents of children who experience any of the following should question whether their child's asthma is under control and should consider seeing a health-care provider:
- If the child uses a rescue inhaler more than twice a week for asthma symptoms;
- If the child wakes up at night with asthma symptoms more than twice a month; or
- If the child uses more than two canisters of rescue medication (such as albuterol) in a year.
For more information about the new law, contact your school or contact McGraw at 406-444-3394 or mmcgraw@mt.gov.
Page last updated: 06/14/2006
