Chronic Illness Management: Changing the System

Abstract

A growing elderly population, affected primarily by chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, requires a different response from the health care system traditionally oriented toward the delivery of acute care services. It is time to shift to a delivery system oriented toward chronic illness management. With the right tools—evidence based decision support at the point of care, electronic clinical information available at all times to the health care team, support and education to facilitate self management for clients with chronic illness, and a health care system design and payment system to create and maintain these tools—it can be done. By applying evidence based standards of care within such a system, we should be able to provide effective health care for everyone who needs it, improve the general level of function of the population, and reduce or control cost at the same time.