Chronic Disease Management for Practitioners

Secure Web Site for Practitioners - Physicians can get their personal performance reports (as they become available) from the Ministries' secure web site (login here). If you are a licensed B.C. physician registered with the Medical Services Plan, you are eligible to access the secure web site. See the Frequently Asked Questions (PDF 51Kb) about the secure site.

Full Service Family Practice Incentive Program - B.C.'s general practitioners are offered an opportunity to participate in three financial incentive programs for improving patient access to comprehensive health care.

Maternity Care Network Initiative - general practitioners who provide obstetrical services in shared care networks were eligible to receive a maternity care enhancement payment.

Improving the Management of Chronic Disease

The term chronic disease management (CDM) describes a system of care designed to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs associated with long-term, ongoing illnesses. Chronic diseases generate the greatest burden of ill health in our modern society. Doctors, dedicated to the relief of suffering, are facing the greatest challenge in medicine today - helping their patients deal with debilitating and often fatal chronic conditions.

Our health care system is designed to deal efficiently with the acutely ill or injured, but often fails to meet the needs of chronically ill patients and the health care providers who care for them (see The Challenge of Chronic Disease Management in British Columbia (PDF 28Kb) for more on this topic).

This is beginning to change, however. Changes in the way our health system provides care are expected to spread rapidly, and this Web site will grow with the changes.

The following diseases were identified by B.C. doctors in a survey (PDF 131Kb) conducted in 2001 as priorities for CDM development: diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, asthma, chronic lung disease, depression, renal failure, liver disease, and rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.

This Web site provides basic information on chronic diseases in B.C. In addition, it will include updates from doctors and health authorities on improvements in care for chronic diseases. See Chronic Disease Management in B.C. for information on recent activities and developments, and to view B.C.'s Chronic Care Model.

Did you know…

• Over 50 per cent of all the care provided by physicians in B.C. is for 10 per cent of the population.
• This 10 per cent consists mainly of patients with chronic diseases whose illnesses may progressively worsen and whose health is likely to decline.
• Chronic diseases do not normally improve over time without treatment and changes in lifestyle.
• Many patients have more than one chronic disease.
• Episodic care - care provided whenever patients choose to see their doctor - is not adequate for treating chronic diseases or compatible with good care management.
• Evidence shows that planned, proactive care can lead to a longer and better quality life for patients with chronic disease.
• Organizing planned care with deliberately scheduled follow-up is challenging.
• The current health care system is poorly designed to support doctors in their efforts to care for patients with chronic diseases.

PDF Format

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Last Revised: December 17, 2007