Chronic disease management may rank as one of the key priorities in the healthcare industry right now. With a multi-billion-dollar price tag, ensuring patients know how to manage their illnesses and prevent costly health episodes is a key goal.
But in many cases, this level of chronic disease management goes against the grain of traditional medicine. For centuries, medicine meant a patient presented to the doctor with a physical ailment, and the doctor prescribed a treatment. Appendicitis calls for a surgery, while the flu might call for a slew of prescription treatments.
But chronic disease management might be more akin to selling toothpaste, according to Karl Ronn, a managing director at Health 2047, the American Medical Association’s Silicon Valley health IT innovation center. …..more