Title: Disease management organisation approach to chronic illness

Authors: Beth Ann Fiedler, Thomas T.H. Wan

Addresses: Doctoral Program in Public Affairs, College of Health and Public Affairs, University of Central Florida, 3280 Progress Drive, Orlando, FL 32826-0544, USA. ' Doctoral Program in Public Affairs, College of Health and Public Affairs, University of Central Florida, 3280 Progress Drive, Orlando, FL 32826-0544, USA

Abstract: This paper states that traditional facilities (i.e., hospitals, remote physician offices or referral care) may not be the best choice for chronic diseases that require long-term care. The increased need for specialised managed care for the growing numbers in the USA who require such care suggests that a disease management organisation (DMO) approach can best diagnose, treat and use health informatics to create treatment protocols for that specific population. Chronic viral hepatitis in Central Florida is presented to illustrate the need for DMOs that have a centralised structure, provide a platform for data acquisition through patient evaluation and diagnosis and provide both immediate treatment recommendations and long-term health monitoring. Unless surgery or an emergency requires acute care, this paper suggests building local capacity in terms of DMOs for managing chronic illness versus hospital management, on the premise that separate facilities can provide more cost-effective and defined treatment for the compounding aspects of chronic disease, to achieve the best outcomes for patients.

Keywords: hospitals; disease management organisations; DMOs; local capacity building; chronic viral hepatitis; chronic illness; healthcare informatics research; national treatment models; healthcare cost reduction; chronic diseases; long-term care; managed care; USA; United States; hospital management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPP.2010.035129

International Journal of Public Policy, 2010 Vol.6 No.3/4, pp.260 - 277

Published online: 05 Sep 2010 *

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