Management of Chronic Medical Conditions

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.

Disease management is a proactive, multidisciplinary, systematic approach to health care delivery that:
• Includes all members with a chronic disease
• Supports the provider-patient relationship and plan of care
• Optimizes patient care through prevention and proactive interventions based on evidence-based guidelines
• Incorporates patient self-management
• Continuously evaluates health status
• Measures outcomes
• Strives to improve overall health and quality of life and lower cost of care