Chronic Disease Management
What is chronic disease management?
Chronic disease management consists of activities used to monitor long-term diseases so patients can have the best life possible while living with chronic conditions. Examples of chronic diseases include lupus, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. Chronic disease management can help reduce how fast a long-term condition progresses, stop it from worsening, and manage symptoms.
Managing chronic diseases involves educating patients on their conditions, ensuring that they go for regular checkups, monitoring their treatment, and coordinating various types of treatment. It considers patients’ genetics and will often involve changes to their lifestyles and environments. For example, patients with asthma may have to move to less polluted environments to manage their condition, while patients with diabetes may need support changing their diets to manage theirs.
Why is chronic disease management important in healthcare?
Chronic disease management is important because millions of Americans are currently living with chronic diseases. The United States spends an estimated $4.1 trillion in healthcare costs every year, most of which goes to caring for chronic diseases.
Chronic diseases are one of the top causes of disability, illness, and death in America. In addition, having an underlying chronic disease can impact other health conditions, especially when poorly managed, creating more complications and disability.