The chronic abyss and an electronic bridge

Abstract

Health systems are failing to address the needs of people with serious chronic disease. The current focus of activity is on acute symptoms but with the rapid rise of chronic conditions, the design of the system comes into question. Medical science is an on-going positive contribution but the way the health system fails to manage people in need outside and between medical silos is problematic. For many with medium to severe chronic diseases, the choices, the opportunities and the available resources are little more than a dark abyss. Rheumatoid disease, often referred to rheumatoid arthritis and closely associated with lupus, lacks adequate understanding and support across both clinical and community spheres. There are three key issues: (a) clinicians underestimate the impact the disease has on their patients; (b) the range of available coordinated support measures is poor; and (c) people with serious chronic conditions need tools and services for self-management of care to augment episodic clinic services. Dragon Claw is a radical initiative that merges patient's unmet need with Internet technologies to provide the first set of steps to enable a more comprehensive approach to managing these debilitating diseases.