[Should disease management be feared? (2): outpatient care].
Outpatient disease management is a multidisciplinary team intervention for managing complex processes of chronic diseases, in order to improve healthcare quality and decrease process variations. Interventions are based on: (1) evidence-based guidelines; (2) educational programs; (3) close patient follow-up. This can be achieved by telephone follow-up, by outpatient clinic programs, or by homecare visits performed by case managers. For the management of patients with chronic heart failure, disease management programs have resulted in a 25% decrease in hospitalization and in reduced costs. In our Swiss health care system, however, a majority of patients are taken care of by private practitioners; thus, the involvement of these physicians in the development and in the realization of disease management programs will be key to their success.
Rutschmann
O
O
Département de médecine interne, Service de médecine interne générale HUG, 1211 Genève 14. oliver.rutschmann@hcuge.ch
Gaspoz
J M
JM
D003153:Community Health Services; D003363:Cost Control; D019468:Disease Management; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010045:Outpatients; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D013557:Switzerland