Chronic diseases are those conditions that last for a year or more, which require on-going medical attention. Chronic diseases can limit your day to day activities, and are a leading cause of death or disability around the world.
Chronic diseases include:
- Heart disease.
- Cancer.
- Diabetes.
- Chronic lung disease.
- Chronic kidney disease.
- Stroke.
- Alzheimer’s disease.
- Asthma.
- Arthritis.
Chronic diseases are caused by:
- Smoking or tobacco use, or exposure to second-hand smoke.
- Poor nutrition – eating less fruits and vegetables and more fatty and salty food.
- Insufficient or lack of physical activity.
- Extreme use of alcohol.
Now preventing or managing the effects of a chronic disease is much easier with chronic disease management, which provides an integrated approach to managing your illness. This includes check-ups, monitoring, screening, treatment and education, and can reduce your health costs by a big margin.
You can consult doctors in Mt. Gravatt or anywhere close to where you live, to check your eligibility to get a chronic disease management plan done. If you are suffering with a chronic disease, it is most likely that your GP will recommend you one anyway.
A chronic disease management plan will:
- Identify your health and care needs;
- Lists out the services to be provided by your GP;
- Lists out what you can do to help manage your illness.
There are many benefits to getting a chronic disease management plan, including:
- Promotes healthy living.
- Identifies your health care needs.
- Provides continuous support.
- It is financially helpful and provides access to certain services such as physiotherapy, dieticians etc.
Speak to your GP in Mt. Gravatt or a clinic close to you today, and see how you can benefit from a chronic disease management plan.