MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES - DEFINITION AND PRINCIPLES

Chronic non-infectious diseases (CNDs) are not transmitted from person to person. These are diseases that persist with time, progress slowly, cannot spontaneously disappear and cannot be cured. Chronic status hampers the independence and health of people, leads to various disabilities, and may lead to additional limitations to day-to-day legal capacity. The spread of chronic diseases encompasses all countries around the world, affects all age groups and represents a global crisis. They are the leading cause of death of over 40 million people, accounting for 70% of all deaths worldwide. The most common in the world are cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, heart attack and stroke), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma), diabetes mellitus, arthritis and mental illness. They are leading causes of morbidity, mortality, disability, and lower quality of life. These diseases place a huge burden on the everyday life of patients, their families and society as a whole. The history of healthcare reflects a number of approaches aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of providing health services. The establishment of Disease Management programs is based on the principle that healthier people spend less on healthcare and that providing quality healthcare will reduce the cost of chronic illness. Disease management is generally defined as a holistic, integrated approach for care and reimbursement of costs based on the natural course of the disease. The goal of disease management is to address the disease or condition with maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore, chronic disease management is not focused on individual interventions, but is a continuous and coordinated care that ensures that patients with chronic illnesses to receive the necessary support at the appropriate time and to achieve desired patient outcomes. These results include: improving patients’ clinical status, reducing unnecessary health care costs and improving their quality of life. An integral part of this care is to provide the necessary knowledge and skills that people with chronic illness need to develop in order to help them be responsible for their own condition and to manage it properly. Disease management programs are structured as treatment plans designed to help people better manage chronic diseases and maintain and improve their quality of life. They meet the overall goal of improving medical treatment in the future. Disease management is emerging as a potential strategy to improve the quality of healthcare provided by patients suffering from one or more chronic diseases. The interest in these strategies is due both to the need to reduce the cost of healthcare and the aging of Europe's population, which is creating an increasing demand for efficient models of costs and quality care.