March 29, 2017
Chronic Disease Management – Tips for Improving Health and Day-to-Day Life
In the United States over the few decades we have seen a significant increase in the incidence of chronic diseases. The term “chronic disease” is a big umbrella term for a multitude of diseases including asthma, cardiovascular disease, obesity, alcohol addiction, cancer, diabetes, and more. Chronic diseases, when not properly managed, pose a significant burden to an individual’s overall health as well as to the nation’s healthcare system, as noted by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), “Chronic diseases are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths each year, and treating people with chronic diseases accounts for 86% of our nation’s health care costs.” The National Health Council notes that over 40% of Americans have at least one chronic disease (and the percentage climbs in the elderly) and current projections have that percentage growing. Because it is very concerning for an individual’s health to leave chronic disease unmanaged, and because it costs the American healthcare system so much money to treat chronic disease, it is imperative that individuals with chronic disease devise a management plan.
One of the best resources a physician can give a patient when managing chronic disease is confidence and education for self-management. Physicians can help monitor the status of chronic disease, a patient’s overall health, prescribe medication, and help devise care management plans, but if a patient is not equipped with the tools they need to self-manage their chronic disease, it will be a challenge to mitigate the symptoms of disease.
Every day, a patient wakes up and decides how to live their life. They choose what they will eat, what vitamins or supplements they will take, what medications they will take, whether or not they will exercise, and a variety of other choices that influence their health. If a patient can be equipped with knowledge about how to best live for maximizing health with a chronic disease, they have a better chance at making healthy choices. Collaboration between a patient and their doctor is far more practical for managing chronic diseases. When a patient is actively involved in making choices and knowledgeable about their illness a practical and successful strategy can be achieved. In many traditional healthcare settings, a patient arrives and tells the doctor about what their health concerns are. The doctor then offers advice and prescribes medication. The patient leaves and may not really understand what the doctor said or why they said it. This is because they have not been educated properly on their disease or taken the time to discuss it with their physician so that they understand why certain approaches are important in managing their disease. If a patient has diabetes and they have simply been told to limit their sweets but do not understand how blood sugar is regulated or what consequences may arise if blood sugar is not properly managed, they may simply ignore instructions or not take them very seriously. If a patient is involved in collaborative decision making for managing their disease, disease management can be achieved and their need for medical interventions reduced
