The Issue with Disease Management

The Issue with Disease Management

July 1, 2024

Joy Stepinski, MSN, RN-BC

With the rising prevalence of chronic disease, you may be familiar with the term “disease management.” The goal of managing a disease is to improve the quality of life, minimize the adverse effects of the illness, and reduce the costs involved. Because patients with chronic conditions frequently utilize the healthcare system, disease management offers an important strategy. Various healthcare team members are involved with the patient’s plan of care as patients learn how to “self-manage” their illness.

In nursing, for example, disease management of a heart attack addresses several components. Nurses want the patient to have the best quality of life possible with the best health outcomes. We strive to preserve the mechanical function of the heart muscle and prevent electrical problems like heart arrhythmias. Organs must have adequate blood perfusion from the heart and avoid serious complications like cardiogenic shock (when organs do not receive enough blood). Heart attacks are managed by assessing for signs of complications, administering pharmaceutical drugs, encouraging patients to lose weight and exercise, and teaching about symptoms for which to notify their healthcare provider [1].

Despite decades of practicing this way, “managing disease” is insufficient. Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States. Prescription costs are astronomical. The U.S. is a leader in retail prescription drug spending, which increased by 7% in this decade from two decades earlier [2].

To truly change chronic disease, we must look at the root cause. As we will read below, nutrition can often be the culprit of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and many other chronic illnesses. Addressing poor health starts by taking a deep examination of our own habits and lifestyle choices. With intentional changes in our own daily practices, there is potential to live a healthier life and be less dependent on “disease management.”

References:

1.    Little, K. M. (2020). Recognizing and managing complications of acute myocardial infarction. American Nurse.

2.    U.S. Government Accountability Office. (n.d.) Prescription drug spending. https://www.gao.gov/prescription-drug-spending