Our Severe Asthma Program, part of the Mass General Brigham Asthma Center, offers state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic options. Located at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (with satellite offices at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital and the Ambulatory Care Center at 850 Boylston Street in Chestnut Hill), the Severe Asthma Program provides an integrated approach to the care of patients whose asthma has been difficult to manage with standard therapies.
Our innovative program brings together a multidisciplinary team that includes:
- Allergists (allergy specialists)
- Pulmonologists (lung specialists)
- Otolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists including Voice Program physicians) and speech therapists
- Gastroenterologists (including experts in gastroesophageal reflux disease). Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) happens when a muscle at the end of your esophagus doesn’t close properly. This allows stomach contents to leak back (or reflux) into the esophagus and sometimes all the way back up into the throat. The esophagus is the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach.
- Interventional pulmonologists (skilled in specialized bronchoscopic procedures)
- Psychiatrists (with expertise in the psychological aspects of complex medical problems)
What is severe asthma?
Asthma can vary greatly in how severe it is. For some people, it’s an occasional annoyance, with mild symptoms that can be easily treated with medication. For other people, asthma is a daily burden. Symptoms are severe and can interfere with life, causing dangerous episodes of breathing problems.
Severe asthma is also called refractory asthma, difficult asthma, difficult-to-treat asthma or difficult-to-control asthma. We define severe asthma as asthma that is not well-controlled by usual asthma medications. If you have troublesome asthma symptoms despite regular use of your medication, you would benefit from talking to the team at the Severe Asthma Program.
Severe asthma also can be:
- Asthma that requires taking multiple courses of oral steroids
- Asthma that requires multiple visits to an urgent care center or emergency department
- Asthma that can’t be controlled without difficult medication side effects
Learn more about the diagnosis and treatment of severe asthma.
How do I make an appointment?
Call The Lung Center at 1-844-BWH-LUNG (1-844-294-5864) to make an appointment with Severe Asthma Program, or email us at severeasthma@bwh.harvard.edu.
I'm a physician. How do I refer a patient?
Physicians can call 1-844-BWH-LUNG (1-844-294-5864) to refer a patient or can make an online referral.
Who is on the severe asthma team?
- Elliot Israel, MD, Co-Director
Allergy and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
- Christopher Fanta, MD, Co-Director
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
- Nora Barrett, MD
Allergy
- Thomas Carroll, MD
Otolaryngology/Voice Program
- Walter Chan, MD, MPH
Gastroenterology
- Nancy Lange-Vaidya, MD, MPH
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
- Bruce Levy, MD
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
- Michael Mufson, MD
Psychiatry
- Hisashi Tsukada, MD, PhD
Interventional Pulmonology
- Victoria Forth, PA-C
Where are you located?
The Severe Asthma Program is located at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at 15 Francis Street in Boston. Learn more about how to access the main hospital.
We also have locations at:
- Brigham and Women’s Health Center, 850 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill
- Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, 1153 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
