Disease Management
Disease management is the concept of reducing health care costs and improving quality of life for individuals with chronic conditions by preventing or minimizing the effects of the disease through integrated care.
Disease management programs are designed to improve the health of persons with chronic conditions and reduce associated costs from avoidable complications by identifying and treating chronic conditions more quickly and more effectively, thus slowing the progression of those diseases.
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Disease management is a system of coordinated health care interventions and communications for defined patient populations with conditions where self-care efforts can be implemented. Disease management empowers individuals, working with other health care providers to manage their disease and prevent complications.
Disease management has emerged as a promising strategy for improving care for those individuals with chronic conditions. People with chronic conditions usually use more health care services which often are not coordinated among providers, creating opportunities for overuse or underuse of medical care.
Disease management is a proactive, multidisciplinary, systematic approach to health care delivery that:
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Includes all members with a chronic disease
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Supports the provider-patient relationship and plan of care
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Optimizes patient care through prevention and proactive interventions based on evidence-based guidelines
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Incorporates patient self-management
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Continuously evaluates health status
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Measures outcomes
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Strives to improve overall health and quality of life and lower cost of care
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