Chronic disease management: does the disease affect likelihood of care planning?
OBJECTIVE
To compare the demographic, socioeconomic, and medical characteristics of patients who had a General Practitioner Management Plan (GPMP) with those for patients without GPMP.


METHODS
Cohort study of patients with chronic diseases during the time period 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2008 using the Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) claims database.


RESULTS
Of the 88 128 veterans with chronic diseases included in the study, 23 015 (26%) veterans had a GPMP and 11 089 (13%) had a Team Care Arrangement (TCA). Those with a GPMP had a higher number of comorbidities (P<0.001), and a higher use of services such as health assessment and medicine review (P<0.001) than did those without GPMP. Diabetes was associated with a significantly increased use of GPMP compared with all other chronic diseases except heart failure.


CONCLUSIONS
GPMPs are used in a minority of patients with chronic diseases. Use is highest in people with diabetes.
Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia. agnes.vitry@unisa.edu.au
Agnes I
AI
Vitry
Elizabeth E
EE
Roughead
Emmae N
EN
Ramsay
Philip
P
Ryan
Gillian E
GE
Caughey
Adrian
A
Esterman
Sepehr
S
Shakib
Andrew L
AL
Gilbert
Robyn
R
McDermott
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010346:Patient Care Management / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011336:Probability; D012923:Social Class; D014728:Veterans