Chronic Disease Prevention
and Management
Continuity & Comprehensiveness of Care
Primary Care Toolkit for Family Physicians
The College of Family Physicians of Canada
CDM and Family Practice
A brief discussion of chronic disease management (CDM) fits within the primary care toolkit because of its increasing importance to primary care and model development. Indeed, there is growing recognition that CDM and primary care renewal are inextricably linked. CDM encompasses a significant portion of the work of family physicians. In fact, modern family practice is now defined as a mixture of acute and chronic conditions. To be successful, CDM needs updated methods of organization, planning, support services and infrastructure development. These needs parallel other needs in practice; and in many jurisdictions, the need for better management of chronic disease has led to partnerships and constructive initiatives in primary care between governments and practitioners working together in mutually supportive ways.
The management of chronic disease is an excellent example of how patients benefit from good continuity and comprehensiveness of care provided by a family physician who is involved in the patient's care over time from early screening through to investigation and treatment of the chronic disease and its potential complications. The prevention and/or management of chronic disease demonstrate the power and value of continuity and comprehensiveness of primary care ensured by family physicians in practice.