Chronic disease management is an emerging area in the American healthcare industry. Advancement in technology, science, and pharmaceuticals means that several diseases considered lethal only some decades ago are now considered chronic, treatable conditions. Many people are now living with various chronic diseases for extensive periods. This recent reality requires people to shift their focus towards receiving timely treatment for the management of incurable, chronic illnesses like kidney and heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among others.
WHO’s View on the Matter
The World Health Organization reports that 63% of all deaths globally are because of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory illnesses, and cancer. This makes chronic diseases the number 1 cause of death globally. Patients afflicted with chronic diseases have to often manoeuver a healthcare system for long periods at a time. Providing care for them can involve several healthcare professionals in multiple different locations, along with a variety of treatments and medications. In such a labyrinthine environment, a proactive approach to treatment and diagnosis and good communication is crucial.
Timely Treatment and Communication
Focusing on disease prevention, health promotion, and early detection is the top strategy to successfully managing chronic diseases. Identification and timely treatment of intercurrent disease are particularly crucial for everyone. So is open communication. Transitions in care, specifically in chronic cases, are largely viewed as weak points when disruption in communication can result in safety incidents.
It is highly recommended for patients afflicted with chronic diseases to actively communicate with their healthcare providers. Healthcare providers are aware of the importance of showing compassion to patients and team up with patients for achieving care goals. Furthermore, patients with chronic diseases play a crucial part in managing their chronic disease effectively – whether through physiotherapy, medication adherence, or lifestyle adjustments.
Documenting discussion with doctors, maintaining and updating treatment plans in the medical records is a great practice. This can enhance continuity of care by being explanatory to other doctors and healthcare professionals about what happened during a patient’s rationale for a treatment plan. Using structures, tools and processes, like handover mnemonics, can help overcome hurdles to effective handovers.
Challenges
The timely detection of disease can lead to longer survival and multiple cures. This possibility has led to healthcare programs that recommend people to have regular screening for detecting potential chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular problems, and more. When such examination schedules are embedded in a public healthcare program, they become invariably costly. The expected candidate number is so large it is not practical to carry out clinical trials. Neither they are likely to happen in an arena big enough to hold all the people at a time.
This may take a while to be resolved largely, but due to the development of online healthcare services, getting timely diagnosis, treatment, and consultancy has become easier than ever. One such online healthcare service is FastDocNow. FastDocNow is an online healthcare service that provides virtual medical consultation and other healthcare services like virtual doctors, At-Home Lab Tests service, and a lot more. View their services to learn more about what they offer.
