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Partnership is a prerequisite for effective and efficient health care
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
When acute disease was the primary cause of illness patients were generally inexperienced and passive recipients of medical care. Now that chronic disease has become the principal medical problem the patient must become a partner in the process, contributing at almost every decision or action level. This is not just because patients deserve to be partners in their own health care (which, of course, they do) but also because health care can be delivered more effectively and efficiently if patients are full partners in the process.
Today in the United States chronic disease is the major cause of
disability, is the main reason why people seek health care, and
consumes 70% of healthcare spending. The differences between acute and
chronic diseases are seen in the box on the BMJ's website. With acute disease, the treatment aims at return to normal. With chronic disease, the patient's life is irreversibly changed.