Chronic disease self-management is the norm in China

 10-Mar-15, eyeforpharma

According to a WHO statement on January 2015, chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) - such as lung cancer, stroke, heart disease and diabetes - accounted for 8.6 million deaths in China in 2012. 

Image: eyeforpharma

The WHO’s recommendation of changing common unhealthy lifestyle habits: smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, and not enough physical activity is laudable, but as we have seen in western cultures, this change in behavior is slow and the results have been variable. 

The time spent in hospital is the only contact the majority of Chinese patients have with the healthcare system. Once a patient with a chronic disease leaves a hospital, the connectivity to their healthcare professional is non-existent. There are a few exceptional doctors that have established websites for their own patients, and third-party websites are now emerging to fill the gap.

However, until healthcare reform in China starts to address some of the issues of patient care outside of the hospital and begins to fund disease management programs, patient self-management will be critical.

 Read the full article 

 Elsevier APAC Healthcare Update