Disease Management Sourcebook, 3rd Ed.

Making informed healthcare decisions is vital to everyone. It is particularly important to the those who are living with chronic illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about 6 in 10 people in the United States are having chronic diseases and 4 in 10 have 2 or more chronic diseases. Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. It is estimated that only 12 percent of adults have proficient health literacy. In other words, nearly 9 out of 10 adults may lack the skills needed to manage their health and prevent disease. These adults were more likely to report their health as poor and are more likely to lack health insurance than adults with proficient health literacy. Low literacy has been linked to poor health outcomes such as higher rates of hospitalization and less frequent use of preventive services. Both of these outcomes are associated with higher healthcare costs.

Disease Management Sourcebook, Third Edition addresses these concerns by providing facts about navigating the healthcare system, communicating with healthcare providers, and finding and evaluating health information. It discusses patient rights and responsibilities, privacy, medical errors, and healthcare fraud. It explains assistive technologies available to help people who have chronic illnesses and provides tips for dealing with legal, financial, and health insurance matters. Facts about medications—including prescription, generic, over-the-counter, and counterfeit drugs—are included. The book’s end section features a glossary and directories of resources for patients and their families and caregivers.

This book is divided into parts and chapters. Parts focus on broad areas of interest. Chapters are devoted to single topics within a part.

Part I: Facts about Serious and Chronic Illnesses presents an overview of disease management in the United States. It includes information about risk factors for chronic disease and symptoms that may indicate serious health conditions or medical emergencies. It describes common screening and diagnostic tests and offers tips for finding support after receiving a diagnosis.

Part II: Working with Healthcare Providers and the Healthcare System provides information about effective communication in a doctor’s office or hospital setting. Topics include making decisions in consultation with the doctor, second opinions, understanding medical specialties and alternative medicine, clinical trials, and laboratory services. Basic information is also provided about choosing a hospital and undergoing surgery, and issues related to healthcare quality are addressed.

Part III: Health Literacy and Making Informed Health Decisions discusses the skills that are essential for making knowledgeable healthcare choices. This includes finding the most reliable and up-to-date health information. The rapidly changing world of health information technology is discussed. Information on mobile health applications and evaluating online health information is provided, along with information on personal and electronic health records. Patient privacy rights, informed consent, medical errors, and healthcare fraud are also discussed.

Part IV: Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications provides information about what medications do and how to use them safely. It discusses purchasing and using prescription, generic, and over-the-counter drugs. Details on common drug interactions, adverse drug reactions, drug name confusion, purchasing prescription drugs online, counterfeit and misused drugs, and imported drugs and safety concerns are also provided.

Part V: Managing Chronic Disease offers guidelines for self-management practices, including tips for dealing with pain, stress, and depression. Infection prevention, assistive technology, home modifications, and transitional and palliative care options are explained. A chapter offering tips for caregivers of individuals with chronic disease is also included.

Part VI: Children and Chronic Disease presents facts for parents and caregivers about serious illness in children, home healthcare, and the pediatric intensive care unit. It offers guidelines to help families and schools provide medical support for students with asthma, diabetes, and other chronic conditions, and it provides information about finding camps for children with special health needs.

Part VII: Legal, Financial, and Insurance Issues That Impact Disease Management includes information about healthcare benefit laws, the Affordable Care Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. It describes advance directives and discusses hospital bills and access to free or reduced-cost healthcare. It also includes information on the health insurance Marketplace, and provides guidelines for purchasing health insurance. In addition, it discusses topics such as health savings accounts, medical discount plans and cards, the insurance needs of people with known medical risk factors, and the insurance claim process.

Part VIII: Additional Help and Information includes a glossary of related terms and directories of resources for information about disease management, health insurance, and financial assistance for medical treatments.