As we grow old, we get prone to developing medical issues. There are plenty of causes of these issues such as genetics or an injury but the most important thing is to understand that to support us, there are several healthcare management tools available.
What is Chronic Care Management?
Chronic care management, also known as CCM is a medical service that is developed to improve the life of patients suffering from one or more chronic conditions.
What are Chronic Conditions?
Chronic conditions refer to medical conditions both physical and mental that last a year or more and need ongoing treatment to restore quality of life. In the US, a patient suffering from more than one chronic condition comes under the umbrella of CCM. Below are some of the most common examples of chronic conditions:
- Alzheimer
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Depression
- Dementia
- HIV
- Lupus
Why is Chronic Care Important?
Chronic care management is one of the best ways out there to help chronic patients have a better quality of life. These services are designed to reduce depression, promote social activity and increase patient engagement.
Chronic Care Management Plan
Chronic care management is a comprehensive care plan which includes all the key information such as how your care journey, details about the health goals and challenges, providers you will be visiting, medications you will be taking, and more. Electronic health records is an important tool to not only facilitate optimum care but also significant in developing and coordinating chronic care management plans.
Disease management for chronic conditions places a focus on a continuous relationship with a member of the care team to not only help in achieving health goals but also for support. Chronic care management plan is designed to provide round-the-clock access to the patients with not only the care-providing team irrespective of the time or day of the week but also with their care plan as well. The patient can easily contact the doctor via phone or with the help of a secure patient portal.
What are the Goals of Chronic Care Management?
Chances of people suffering from chronic conditions living a quality life are not on the higher side. Therefore, the main goal is to help patients enjoy a healthy life with the help of continuous care and managing their conditions. The CCM program is providing a pathway for patients to go back to normal life by reducing pain and stress, helping them to increase mobility and physical fitness to get them a better sleep. The idea is to assist the patient in getting back to the normal to some extent that the chronic conditions have barred from.
How to get Desired Results?
A recent study shows that the patients who are involved in decisions about their health, tend to show better outcomes, so the patients need to be involved in the whole process. The more realistic approach to dealing with diseases like diabetes is to improve the quality of life. The best model for those going through multiple chronic conditions is the right collaboration among the patients and professionals.
Challenges with Chronic Care Management
From the lack of engagement of patients to the risk of mortality, there are a lot of challenges CCM providers are facing. Some of them are stated below:
- Patients with critical sickness tend to lose their interest in medical care, resulting in not showing the desired results
- As the patient suffers from increased chronic conditions, the chances of hospitalization and medication interaction increases
- Patients suffering from more than one chronic condition have a higher chance of a disability and in order to provide them with quality life, they need more extended and in-depth care
- Treatments of chronic conditions are quite complicated, resulting in increased difficulty for the patient to cope up with
- The cost of chronic care management is on the higher side
How to Deal with the Challenges?
To get the best results, the medical professionals need to make sure that the patients are not losing interest as a lack of engagement with the care process will make it hard for the providers to give better outcomes. Similarly, patients with multiple chronic diseases need to be treated with intensive care and dedication.
Key takeaways
Patients with chronic conditions require a lot of support and that is where the chronic care management program comes in. While it is not always mandatory but it has shown remarkable results for those who need it most. The goal behind the whole idea is to improve the overall quality of life and the results show that with the right strategy and continuous care, remarkable results can be achieved.
