SEARCHING FOR AN INTEGRATED STRATEGY IN CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT: A POTENTIAL ROLE FOR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

An increasing and ageing population shifts the burden of disease in a society, increased the prevalance of chronic diseases, which in turn changes health care needs. Chronic diseases involve complex models of care; require health promotion and disease prevention in an integrated manner. Chronic disease management (CDM) has been an important policy concern in the USA, Europe and other advanced countries. The integrated care in CDM improves coordination among professions and institutions, improve access to continuous information and data about clinical outcomes and enhance patient knowledge and empowerment about their chronic conditions. Information and communication technologies (ICT) and eHealth provides a basis for the use of innovative products, improve access and meet health and long-term care need of ageing society. The European Commission supports the competitiveness of the markets for innovative products and services in order to respond the ageing challenges. Use of ICT in health services - also known as eHealth can contribute to illness prevention and transferring care from hospital to home, by providing adapted forms of communication, monitoring and educational tools. The objective of this article is to point out a need to explore the utilisation of ICT with an aim to improve integrated CDM. Keywords: Chronic disease management –CDM, integrated care, information and communication technologies –ICT , eHealth, telemedicine