While the statistics in chronic diseases may be disappointing, the good news is that technologies step here to address the efficiency of care management with smart tech solutions.
Patient Tech
Photo by Photo by Javier Matheu on Unsplash
Several solutions, such as care management systems, have been introduced to assist patients and healthcare workers in managing complex and chronic conditions.
In particular, patient diaries and medical record tools are actively applied to ensure that patients follow recommendations and stick to the treatment plan. It has been proven that such systems promote discipline and positively affect their results.
Chronic Case
Care management is the medical model that is closely interconnected with the state of public health. The overarching goal of care management is to improve health outcomes among patients with the help of efficient care coordination, increased patient engagement, effective monitoring, etc.
Care Management systems based on Data Science are similar to case management but differ in two main elements. In this system, the main active roles are played by nurses and patients. The same parties are involved in the active usage of patient diaries.
Why care management is so important and what makes it different?
Let's dig into the facts. According to the latest figures provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 133 million Americans live with at least one chronic disease, which accounts for 45% of the total population. Chronic diseases are still responsible for 7 out of 10 deaths in the United States.
At the same time, over 50 million people in Europe have more than one chronic disease. As to ECDA, chronic diseases are diseases of long duration and slow progression are by far the leading cause of mortality in Europe, representing 77% of the total disease burden and 86% of all deaths.
These facts show us a dramatic situation in the world with the state of public health. Tech can be helpful here in four main components:
1. Analytics
Collecting and analyzing all data about the patients, medicines, expenses, etc.;
2. Care planning and coordination
Working out a treatment course based on previous analysis;
3. Patient's engagement
When a patient is one of the main players in his treatment process;
4. Automation
Workflow made by tech means with no human interference.
Patient at the Center
Since the care management is patient-centric, which in this case means that patient is one of the major stakeholders of his/her health, this model includes different practices aimed at developing self-consciousness in patients. Healthtech also adds value to these efforts with the help of different tools.
Let's take patient diaries. They are defined as any paper or computerized tool that enables patients to track their systems and test results, monitor drug use, etc. Such systems help stakeholders ensure that the patient follows all the recommendations and assess his/her results in the short-term and long-term perspective.
These tools also involve the closest relatives into the process, like it was made in GrandTime app. This app is designed especially for elderlies and could support patients and their relatives, as well as medical practitioners taking into account the following statistics provided by the NCOA: "Approximately 80% of older adults have at least one chronic disease, and 77% have at least two. Four chronic diseases—heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes — cause almost two-thirds of all deaths each year". You can find more details on the app in our case study and Oleg Pun's blog.
With the rapid development of HealthTech technologies, paperless systems evolved into comprehensive care management tools that make it easier for patients to control their conditions. Such solutions aim to improve the quality of care and promote healthy habits for people with chronic diseases.
Healthtech also provides medics with medical record tools that improve data management in healthcare organizations. These tech solutions are introduced to systemize patients’ information, which reduces the risk of data leakage or disclosure. Thus, medical workers can be sure all the health records are kept confidential, and accessible to eligible members only.
These tools can be introduced separately, or included in care management systems tailored to the needs of the hospitals.
Win-Win Strategies
Care management systems are created to ease the work of physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers by providing them with a reliable instrument to monitor the clients’ health conditions. Reduced patient visits might help to offload medical workers and provide them with more room to manage their schedules.
Apart from improved time management, doctors have an opportunity to track the patient’s dynamics and introduce changes to the treatment plan timely. With more data at their fingertips, healthcare professionals are more prone to choose the intervention that best aligns with the patient’s diagnosis and health records.
Patients might also benefit from care management tools as they help them keep track of their own health. A user can monitor the dynamics and get notified in case some extra efforts are required. For instance, the system can remind a user to get the medication or visit a doctor according to the schedule.
Care management tools also ease the burden for families in monitoring their relatives' health conditions. Instead of relying on their observations, families can use modern tools to make notes and track prescription plans. Thus, relatives can improve the quality of care and ensure patients follow all the recommendations provided by their family doctor.
It needs to be stressed that to reach positive results, care management systems and additional medical tools must be all-inclusive, based on thorough data analysis and access to all social groups.