The Journal of mHealth Vol 1 Issue 1 (Feb 2014) | Page 41
Rising Costs of Chronic Condition Management
The burgeoning costs of managing patients with chronic conditions are a problem facing healthcare providers and organisations
the world over. Many of the conditions that are beginning to place
these unsustainable strains on the
Healthcare systems of the developed world are also becoming issues for many countries of the developing world. A report recently
published by UK think tank the
Overseas Development Institute
suggests that the number of obese
people in developing countries has
quadrupled since 1980, representing over a billion people. With
growing middle classes in these
countries growing rapidly, then
it seems likely that the global occurrence of lifestyle related illness
and chronic conditions will place,
potentially, unmanageable burdens
on the healthcare providers tasked
with managing these patients.
The facts illustrate a potential ‘Climate Change’ event for not just
the UK, but for healthcare provision on a global scale. The need to
develop and implement new strategy for the efficient management
of chronic conditions, has been
well identified. Many senior figures
across the healthcare industry view
mHealth and eHealth services as
no longer just a possible option for
the delivery of future care pathways, but as a vital and essential
format for delivering effective and
wide-scale programs to help cater
to patient needs.
Healthcare organisations have in
the past proven slow to implement
technology and mHealth is likely to
encounter similar problems. That
is not to say that lessons haven’t
been learnt. In the UK for example
cost overspend and delays with the
delivery of network data systems
in the recent past have resulted in
changes to the way in which the
service procures and implements
technology, which suggests that
mHealth could potentially be more
easily incoporated into services.
The original article referenced
in this report can be found at:
http://www.theguardian.com/
society/2014/jan/03/nhs-overwhelmed-long-term-medical-conditions
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The Journal of mHealth