Chronic diseases are now a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide and have a huge impact on healthy life expectancy, especially because they require constant monitoring. A patient with diabetes or chronic cardiovascular disease needs tests, ultrasound, specialist consultations and treatment that is periodically updated and evaluated throughout life so that the disease does not worsen and the quality of life can be maintained at a satisfactory level.

Chronic diseases cause health problems that require ongoing treatment for years or decades and are related to aging, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition. According to the World Health Organization, these are usually long-term, slowly progressive non-communicable diseases that affect the patient’s quality of life, as well as the health and social care systems.

A sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, smoking, and alcohol abuse are common risk factors for cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases that account for a significant portion of health care costs.

More than a third of deaths in Romania are caused by cardiovascular diseases, the main cause of death in our country, according to the report on the state of health in the European Union published by the European Commission in December 2021.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death, with the death rate increasing by nearly 11% since 2000, largely due to high rates of smoking. Death rates from other types of cancer have also increased in recent years, particularly colorectal cancer.

Dispensary monitoring of chronically ill patients

A chronically ill person must have a general practitioner or a therapist who observes him, says Dr. Florin Chausu, specialist in general medicine at MedLife Grivița. why In addition to the main disease, he may have other concomitant diseases. Each pathology should be investigated multidisciplinary, as a result of this prevalence of pathological associations. For example, people with diabetes should also be screened for cardiovascular problems.

Examinations and analyzes are necessary depending on the chronic disease

Each chronic disease requires an individual plan of tests and research, depending on the evolution of the disease, the presence of a certain genetic predisposition or other conditions. The most common types of chronic diseases among MedLife subscribers are metabolic, cardiovascular and endocrine diseases. Dr. Florin Chaushu explains what basic tests a patient should do depending on the pathology:

Metabolic diseases

1. Consult with a doctor of internal / general medicine

2. Screening (laboratory tests) regarding lipid, carbohydrate and protein profile

3. Total ultrasound of the abdominal cavity

4. CT / MRI depending on the case

Abdominal tests and ultrasounds are routine tests and should be done about every 6 months. If there is no risk pathology, then the examination can be carried out only once a year. In the case of genetically determined pathology, the frequency of research and laboratory tests depends on the decision of the coordinating physician.

Cardiovascular diseases

1. Consultation of a cardiologist

2. Ultrasound of the heart

3. Screening (laboratory studies) of cardiovascular diseases

4. Additional examinations for concomitant diseases

Endocrinological diseases

1. Endocrinological consultation

2. Ultrasound of the thyroid gland

3. Screening (laboratory studies) for metabolic and endocrine system disorders

How a medical subscription helps a chronic patient

For chronic patients, medical subscriptions facilitate access to specialist consultations, laboratory tests and imaging services, free of charge or at a discount, depending on the type of subscription, according to PALMED. Thus, each patient, depending on the pathology he has, can monitor his well-being and the development of the disease, can always use the opinion of a specialist regarding any unforeseen situations, treatment adjustments, etc.

Telemedicine services and online consultations allow remote monitoring, evaluation and treatment adjustments, which can sometimes be vital for some chronically ill patients. In this way, they can also have access to doctors in large medical centers or in other cities without having to travel.

Over the past 5 years, 310,000 chronic patients have benefited from consultations and examinations in the MedLife system with the help of a subscription.

What can a chronic patient save on a medical subscription – a few examples:

The subscription covers almost 90% of studies recommended for patients with chronic diseases.

A person with a medical subscription can save from 450 to 580 lei just for a medical examination and a general ultrasound of the abdominal cavity.

In the case of echocardiography, which is necessary, for example, in case of cardiovascular diseases, the saving is 390 lei.

Another ultrasound that is often recommended for monitoring is a thyroid ultrasound – in this case, a MedLife subscriber can save between 180 and 300 lei.

Thus, the subscription helps chronic patients to constantly monitor their health, monitor progress through consultations, tests and other examinations, and at the same time have the advantages of savings.

***

This article is part of the RoMâine initiative initiated and supported by MedLife, Romania’s national healthcare provider.

RoMâine is a collaborative effort at national recovery, carried out with care, respect, trust, hope and compassion. A better Romania also needs a strong economy built together with healthy people. MedLife supports economic development and the local business environment through medical subscriptions for companies and small and medium-sized enterprises.

With MedLife medical subscriptions, 768,000 employees at 8,000 companies have access to preventive services in a network of nearly 700 owned and partnered units nationwide, where thousands of doctors, nurses and nurses are ready to help you every day. during the day.

Go to https://www.medlife.ro/servicii-companii and learn more.