[Care for patients with chronic illness - concepts, assessment and foreign experiences]

The growing number of people with chronic diseases is a major challenge for health care systems in terms of morbidity, mortality, quality of care and financial impact. A range of organizational concepts for structured chronic disease care have been developed to address this challenge. The purpose of this literature review is to identify the key concepts, results and success factors of recent initiatives in this area. Four main concepts related to the broader notion of integrated care were identified: case management, disease management, the chronic care model and population management. The available evidence suggests that the expected results in terms of health gains and cost reductions have only been partially achieved, but that the quality of care has improved. The study identified several critical success factors for initiatives aimed at improving chronic care: the integration of patient education, the implementation of a patient identification system, provider feedback, primary care performance and financial incentives. Improved care for patients with chronic illness requires a range of interdependent measures. However, it is important to note that initiatives in this area are not usually associated with shortterm savings, but represent an investment for the future.