Why Patient Engagement is Critical for Chronic Disease Management

According to the CDC, six in ten Americans live with at least one chronic disease such as heart disease, hypertension, or diabetes. Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability in America, and they are also a leading driver of healthcare costs.

Effective management of a chronic condition requires ongoing education, emotional support, encouragement, and coaching. These long-term conditions are better managed and even improved when patients change their behavior and make healthier lifestyle choices, but that is difficult for many to sustain. The challenge is even greater for patients who are managing more than one condition or face other barriers in managing their health. They can become overwhelmed and confused by complicated information and complex treatment regimens, which can lead to non-adherence to care plans and worsening conditions.

需要一种创新的方法来控制慢性疾病，并对生活质量产生积极影响，延缓疾病进展，并产生更好的结果和更低的成本。

Engaging Patients in Their Care is a Critical Part of Effective Management

Patients themselves can play a powerful role in managing one or more chronic conditions, but they need to understand what they can do to optimize treatment success and why it matters. They also need a close connection to their care team between visits so that adjustments can be made to care plans and medications in near real-time to prevent complications and delay disease progression.

In addition to the physical impact, chronic conditions can also lead to anxiety, depression, and other social issues. The negative impact of chronic conditions can be significantly alleviated with education, coaching, encouragement, social support, medication titration, and at-home monitoring tools, but care teams have limited time and resources, and delivering this level of support may be unrealistic.

How Patient Engagement Technology Can Help Those with Chronic Conditions

通过使用自动、主动和及时的数字通信途径，为每一位慢性疾病患者提供个性化的、持续的支持是可能的。护理团队可以利用基于文本的安全消息协议提供支持自我管理的信息，提供鼓励，扩大患者健康知识，维持药物或设备的依从性，并帮助患者发展管理其病情的技能。

Patient engagement software can also deliver surveys that prompt patients to report how they are feeling, transmit data gathered using in-home remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) devices, and gather patient reported outcome measures (PROMs). This functionality enables providers to monitor important health data between in-person visits and proactively identify the need for medication titration or care plan changes. It also gives patients a direct connection to the care team so they can report barriers they are facing, both clinically and socially.

可以配置数字通信路径，以便在患者报告的指标超出范围时向护理团队发出警报，这样他们就可以干预和防止并发症、不必要的急诊、入院或需要更积极的治疗。

Care teams are empowered to focus their time on patients who need extra support, but also stay connected to those who are doing well. This added support keeps patients engaged throughout their healthcare journey and reduces the risk of deterioration.

Chronic illness is widespread and costly for patients and the healthcare system. Many conditions can be managed through treatment, lifestyle changes, and other interventions, but providers face many obstacles in connecting with patients between in-person visits. We must engage patients in their care to mitigate the impact of these conditions, and leverage technology to scale high quality, ongoing care to entire populations, ensuring that all patients have the tools they need to succeed.