Background: Asthma care guidelines recommend physicians to perform a range of medical activities, and to support medication adherence. Little is known on how they routinely perform these activities. Physician self-report is a feasible method that can collect valuable data if the survey is rigorously developed. Aim: To examine the psychometric properties of 2 brief asthma care checklists (medical care & adherence support), and describe the content and scope of asthma care in a sample of French general practitioners (GPs). Methods: GINA, BTS/SIGN, and NAEPP guidelines, and asthma self-management literature, were used to identify key asthma care activities. Survey items were developed, reviewed, and pre-tested. Data were collected online from 117 GPs within an EC-FP7-funded study (ASTROLAB), and analyzed via descriptive statistics, item response theory and bivariate correlations. Results: The 12 medical care activities assessed were performed independently of each other, and half were not routinely delivered by >80% of GPs. Of 25 adherence support items, 12 formed a unidimensional scale from basic (explain drug action) to advanced (advise reminder use) support (mean score 7.2±2.8; range 0-12). Asthma care activities were unrelated to background characteristics, but adherence support scores were associated with GPs9 motivation and abilities (ρ =.29 and .24, p Conclusions: In this sample, medical care provision lacked a homogeneous, guideline-informed structure, while adherence support was more structured. Both varied considerably between GPs. Although GPs performed many key activities, more support to implement guidelines optimally could enhance quality of care and patient outcomes.