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The health scene in the United States, and globally, is changing due to shifting population trends, advances in medicine and medical care, federal laws and oversights, and a technology-aware public with more knowledge about disease prevention and healthy lifestyles. Because of these factors, the larger demand for medical care today is for the treatment of chronic diseases than for acute illnesse's a reversal from the medical scene a half century ago.
An acute illness has the following characteristics:
For minor illnesses such as the cold or the flu, treatment may not be needed. Illnesses that are more serious may need medication and a few days of hospital care.
Medical knowledge of infectious diseases and acute illnesses had advanced to such an extent that diagnosis and prognosis today are commonly accurate and precise laboratory testing, medication, and surgical procedures are available. Most acute illnesses can be cured and the patient returned to normal.
For acute illnesses, the patient has little knowledge and is dependent on the physician and healthcare specialist to provide the testing, diagnosis, and treatment. In contrast, for chronic illnesses, the patient must participate in providing the knowledge needed for treatment. Therefore, treatment takes a different emphasis for acute and chronic illnesses.
Chronic illnesses are very different from acute illnesses in onset and characteristics. They range in severity from those that respond to medical therapies and health behavior changes to those that are degenerative and terminal. The latter causes disability and requires long-term, extensive medical care.
The following are generally descriptive of chronic illnesses:
Today, chronic diseases account for 80 percent of all deaths and 90 percent of all morbidity.
The following are some common chronic diseases:
Among the elderly, cancer, stroke, and heart disease are the leading causes of death.
Effective treatment of chronic illnesses requires that the physician, other health professionals, and patient work together on a long-term basis. For the physician, observation over time is required for interpreting physical signs and symptoms to understand the trend and tempo. The health professional