Battle plan against six major illness
Six workgroups formed for integrated diagnosis, treatment and management of killer diseases and conditions
PATIENTS suffering from cancer, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes and asthma will get better all-round care in future from medical teams that will handle all aspects of their care, from hospitalisation to keeping them healthy in the long term.
These six illnesses were among the top 10 killers here Iast year and all can burden a patient physically and financially for life.
Singapore is planning to battle these killers with a large-scale, comprehensive disease-management programme under the charge of the National Healthcare Group (NHG), which manages public health-care facilities in the western part of Singapore, and the Health Ministry.
Six workgroups, each led by a prominent expert, have been formed to tackle the disease from primary prevention all the way to recovery and long-term health maintenance.
To make it work, the patient must also be willing and active in managing his illness, said Dr Jason Cheah, NHG’s chief projects officer.
He spoke at a press conference yesterday to explain the concept and rationale behind the battle plan.
He said: "There are many parties involved in the care of a patient, from primary care at polyclinic or general-practitioner level to secondary or tertiary care in hospitals.
"This makes it difficult for doctors to track and monitor disease outcome on a long-term basis."
Health care must be more integrated and coordinated so that diseases can be tracked and managed ~better, he said.
Six separate workgroups have been formed to look into each of the six chronic conditions: heart diseases, asthma, stroke, diabetes, hypertension and specific cancers.
Each will track the patient’s progress once he is a4mitted, and look into diagnosing, treating and managing the illness.
After his discharge, this team of doctors, nurses, therapists, counsellors, dietitians and paramedics will ensure that he gets adequate follow-up care.
The group will run several public-awareness programmes to promote disease prevention. Patients will also have a case,manager to look after them, providing administrative emotional support while the patient is in hospital and after he has been charged.
The greatest challenge now is to involve general practitioners, who handle 80 per cent of the primary health care, said Dr C
They will have a key role in managing the patient's illness after his discharge, he said.
The ministry is looking at a scheme for geriatricians from Alexandra, Tan Tock Seng and Changi general hospitals to work with voluntary welfare organisations and attend to elderly patients at selected community hospitals and nursing homes.
-By Liang Hwee Ting
Source : The Straits Times, May 04, 2001
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