Monitoring Chronic Diseases

Monitoring Chronic Diseases
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Chronic diseases such as diabetes and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder) are finding a new hope in Chronic Disease Monitoring. The patients are carefully screened at the onset of the disease and their progress is recorded into a data base measuring the success or failure of different treatments. Like looking at a graph, the physicians can determine what will and will not work for a particular patient without having to go through as much trial and error testing as was once the case. If a patient moves and has to pick a new doctor, the new doctor can have all the past history available immediately.

The Importance of Chronic Disease Monitoring

Every patient is different and so are the effects of the chronic diseases in question on each patient. What works for one may not work for another. The new system of Chronic Disease Monitoring can prevent complications by showing a variety of treatments and their effects on a variety of patients, enabling doctors to choose the most likely method of treatment for individuals. For example if the doctor has access to the monitoring results of a thousand patients, he or she can see similarities in the patients and decide that one treatment or another seems to work better with a particular age group, weight or nationality. Having the statistical probabilities available helps doctors to eliminate therapies that don’t work well with certain types of patients.

How Chronic Disease Monitoring Can Save Lives

If a patient with a chronic disease has been monitored over time and the results carefully recorded into the data base, a new doctor or emergency room physician can immediately access the information and know that the patient didn’t respond well to a certain drug or treatment program. They can see if the patient has an allergy to any commonly used medication and not risk the life or health of the patient by having to try several possible treatments before finding one that works. The chances of a bad reaction are vastly reduced with Chronic Disease Monitoring.

Overview

Some doctors are actually banning the use of paper in their offices to make sure that the patient monitoring is computerized and goes directly into a data base that will keep the medical files and information safe and secure, as well as available in time of need. Chronic Disease Monitoring will make it easier for the doctors and safer for the patients.

Resources:

https://healthit.ahrq.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_1248_830986_0_0_18/08-0084_cdm.pdf