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Why do we need chronic disease management?

May 15, 2023

7 minutes read

Managing long-term disease symptoms allows patients to slow down the disease’s progression and helps control the symptoms. With effective chronic disease management, patients can have better life quality. Disease management software can allow a comprehensive, total-health approach to chronic disease management. 

What are chronic diseases?

Chronic diseases are non-communicable illnesses lasting several years or even a lifetime. It means:

  • Patients must learn to live with the disease instead of finding a permanent solution to cure the condition.
  • Each chronic disease develops because of the influence of lifestyle, environment, and genetics. 
  • Chronic conditions often limit a person’s day-to-day activities and are prolonged. They are managed using medication and treatment and can not be cured entirely. 

Examples of chronic illnesses include heart disease, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), kidney disease, musculoskeletal conditions, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS. The most common complication of chronic physical illness is depression. Chronic care management software can help physicians improve chronic patients’ life quality. 

How can chronic diseases be managed?

Сhronic disease management strives to treat the symptoms and reduce them with the help of disease management software. Doctors must consider the medical history and status to decide on a treatment recommendation for a particular disease. Chronic care management software help to control the progression of the condition. 

Understanding that one health condition may be causing or impacting another can help the patient and the doctor to manage the chronic illness. The doctor may examine the patient’s lifestyle to define what factors possibly contribute to the chronic condition. For instance, living in an environment with airborne irritants can cause more asthma attacks by asthma patients, or an unhealthy diet can make diabetes worse. To slacken the progression of chronic diseases, the physician must manage the various factors. Chronic disease management software can make it more effective. 

Chronic diseases at work

Worksite conditions can provide for the development of specific chronic diseases. For example, high job demands and inflexible work schedules can cause a mental illness, or musculoskeletal problems can result from particular working conditions. However, according to scientific research, for a person with a chronic health condition is generally better to be working if possible. Consequently, employers have to understand this and help employees with chronic illnesses.

If employees are affected by chronic illness, flexible working conditions could help them be more effective at work and care for family members with chronic conditions if needed.

Flexible work policies

The commitment to supporting workers with chronic illnesses can be a part of safety and health policy that includes managing reclassification processes, sick leave, etc. Managing chronic diseases with the help of chronic disease management software should be a proactive approach to help employees with chronic illnesses work safely and flexibly, keeping the worker engaged with the workplace and encouraging early intervention.

There are a lot of options that can help people with chronic illnesses to stay effective in the workplace:

  • work in the home office 
  • work part-time 
  • have flexible working hours
  • frequent breaks
  • a slower work pace
  • reducing the mental or physical demands of the work
  • sharing responsibility for tasks
  • equipment modification to minimize the needs of the employee
  • a private space to take medication if applicable
  • access to reskilling and training 

All this is necessary to enable workers to compete in the labor market and to keep up with the changing demands.

The odds of chronic care management software 

All the diversity of healthcare apps makes a unique chronic care management solutions field that keeps growing briskly. Mobile software is particularly significant for dealing with chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, cancer, etc. It provides patients with the tools to ease their daily routine, including tracking medication intake and health data, arranging appointments with the physician, and checking lab results.

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of a chronic disease management app that inspires individuals to involve themselves in their well-being actively. However, to unleash the full potential of chronic disease management apps and bring value to patients and caregivers, it’s necessary to be aware of the opportunities and challenges in chronic disease management.

Opportunities for the user of chronic care management software

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, treating people with chronic diseases brings about 86% of US healthcare costs. Healthcare providers need to develop effective chronic care management solutions to hit the right area and be in demand. Proper chronic care management requires helping patients know their conditions better by tracking health data and fixing treatment progress.

Cost savings

Chronic care management solutions for monitoring diabetes can cause a significant annual reduction in employee healthcare costs. Mobile apps lessen the time required to manage patients’ conditions and help to prevent complications. Additionally, chronic care management solutions improve the cost efficiency of care thanks to reducing the need for appointments and readmissions.

Therapy focus

The most positive impact of software for chronic care management lies in type II diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular and Parkinson’s diseases. Therefore, the healthcare industry expects a significant boost of mobile initiatives bound to the abovementioned fields.

Pitfalls of chronic care management software

Generic apps

Only 9% of mobile health apps are specific to a particular disease. And most software for chronic care management support only general wellness needs by providing nutrition information, training programs, recipes, and other relevant features. And though the stats are disappointing, it’s still a good opportunity for health systems. By introducing more specific mobile applications, caregivers can build a more stable relationship with their patients and improve the outcomes.

Quality gaps

Not all software for chronic care management is created based on rigorous research. Most consumer apps barely consider patients’ needs and end up being a waste of time and money.

For example, most diabetes apps can only perform simple glucose self-monitoring. However, patients would also benefit from controlling blood pressure, weight, and insulin level. In addition, we should point out the essential feature of any healthcare software synchronization with personal EHR data for advanced control over the person’s condition.

Scarce measurements

Only 6.5% of mobile hypertension management apps (according to Medscape) can measure blood pressure, whereas physical data monitoring is one of the critical components of a relevant mHealth app. Specifically, a useful hypertension management app should analyze patient heart rate and blood pressure trends and provide solid feedback. This information is essential for effective treatment measures.

Poor connections

Just 2.8% of mobile hypertension management apps (according to Medscape) are officially powered by healthcare organizations. It’s a serious gap because, without any real connection to the caregivers, mobile apps are practically useless for daily chronic disease management.

Only solid integration with healthcare systems can get the green light for other chronic care management solutions. Achieving this condition, we can see mobile medical apps as default distant care tools in the future.

What is customized software?

Customized software (also known as bespoke software or tailored software) refers to software that has been developed specifically for a client. There are different types of customized solutions:

Fully custom-made software means developing the solution from scratch, but it is not needed in most circumstances. Only a few projects need a complete rewrite of the software. It will be enough when you use pre-existing libraries.

Semi-custom software is most prevalent and leverages existing software by using pre-developed libraries.

Custom software systems rely on existing applications provided by other organizations with similar business requirements. 

The main advantages and disadvantages of using custom software for business

Off-the-shelf software also has some advantages. For example, it is immediately ready for usage, which may be a great advantage for small businesses. Most companies look into the benefits of creating tailor-made software that develops custom software that propels business technology innovation. 

Deciding whether or not your company needs custom software. A list of benefits of such software can help you with this decision:

  • Custom software simplifies the process of integrating your old systems with your new ones
  • Tailor-made software account for and accelerate growth
  • Custom software is more reliable
  • Tailor-made software increases your team’s productivity and efficiency
  • You own the intellectual property (IP)
  • Get an edge over competitors
  • It provides an excellent long-term return on investment

Conclusion

Concluding the above, all the pitfalls provide a range of opportunities. It’s up to healthcare systems whether to take mobile applications more seriously. But if the health industry changes the approach, the world will see a lot of life-saving, top-notch chronic care management software with documented value and physical state tracking features.

Chronic illness need not be a barrier to full and fulfilling employment for older workers, especially if they get the treatment and support they need. The danger is that many older workers’ knowledge, experience, know-how, and skills will be recovered if we combine joined-up resources and interventions that help them stay at work. It would not only be very harmful to millions of individuals’ health, well-being, and wealth. It would also be hugely damaging to the economy as a whole.

To build the proper chronic care management solution, you need a professional software development partner capable of creating customized software that covers all your needs.

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