THE IMPACT OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS ON CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Living with a chronic disease affects an individual in various ways. Over time, chronic disease management (CDM) can become costly and time-consuming for patients, families, and health systems. To alleviate the burdens associated with managing chronic diseases, a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals that focuses on person-centered care could meet the needs of patients dealing with a chronic illness. Given the different roles and specializations of the healthcare providers, it is crucial that the team collaborates and communicates to ensure the individual’s needs are met to manage the chronic conditions. Additionally, innovative ways of managing chronic illness such as medication adherence and interventions to foster self-management will need to become more prevalent in patient care.

Living with a chronic disease has the potential to have a profound effect, not only on one’s physical health, but on their overall well-being, and extends to familial and socio-economic implications. A common chronic disease is diabetes mellitus, which affects an estimated 30 million individuals in the US alone. As these individuals age, non-adherence to the prescribed regimen and the development of co-morbidities are common. This results in not only an increased burden for the individuals themselves, and their families but on the healthcare system as a whole. (Mari & Wicklund, 2015)