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Disease
management provides benefits for patients with multiple
chronic diseases
Care management,also commonly referred to
as "disease management," has been widely acclaimed by forward-looking
health care experts as the next major evolutionary step
beyond the cost-focused innovations of “managed care.” “The
next phase has to be managing care better, and disease management
is another word for that,” says Uwe S. Reinhardt, a health
care economist at Princeton University.
Disease management’s proposed impacts on
future health outcomes and on the care delivery system itself
are expected to be profound, given its potential to more
effectively manage the chronic diseases that account for
nearly 60% of all medical costs in the United States.
At Kaiser Permanente, about 15% of members
are affected by one of just five diseases targeted by the
Care Management Institute: diabetes, asthma, heart failure,
coronary artery disease, and depression. Yet they account
for about 30% of the organization’s cost.
Kaiser Permanente’s integrated structure
and prepaid group practice give us the ability to better
anticipate and address health care needs–and also endeavor
to prevent acute episodes–upstream. This is especially important
prevention for people with multiple chronic conditions.
They have more care needs, and the ability to anticipate
and accommodate these needs is a critical factor in improving
health outcomes.
For example, almost half of Kaiser Permanente
patients with coronary artery disease also have one or more
other chronic conditions, including diabetes, depression,
and heart failure. Having multiple conditions amplifies
the needs of patients. For example, members who have diabetes
and are depressed required twice as much time in the hospital
as diabetic members without depression.
Disease management cannot cure or eradicate
these diseases once they have commenced, but when applied
early enough it can prevent many, if not most, severe complications
and acute episodes. It can also help thousands of our members
with chronic conditions live more productive, more independent
lives.
This information is excerpted from Making
the Right Thing Easier to Do, the Care Management Institute's
new information booklet. A printable Adobe Acrobat version
of the booklet is available here.
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