Improving Chronic Disease Care and Reducing Health Spending

The Commonwealth Fund Commission recently unveiled a community-based plan to enhance health and reduce spending by improving care for chronically ill patients and targeting quality improvement efforts to conditions that can yield the greatest benefit in a relatively short time. The initiative proposed by the Commission has the potential to help those most in need of coordinated care while also saving $184 billion in health spending over the next 10 years.

The report points out that 5 percent of the U.S. population accounts for 50 percent of all health care costs. Most people in this group have multiple chronic conditions, such as congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and diabetes—conditions for which there are well-defined, standard metrics for gauging quality of care and measuring improvement.

To learn more about the proposal and the impact it would have on patients, communities, and overall health spending, download The Performance Improvement Imperative: Utilizing a Coordinated, Community-Based Approach to Enhance Care and Lower Costs for Chronically Ill Patients. Also read the New England Journal of Medicine Perspective by Commission chair David Blumenthal, M.D.