Disease-Management-Programs (DMP)

What are Disease Management Programs (DMP)?
Disease Management Programs (DMP) are structured treatment programs that are designed to help chronically ill people to get their disease under control .and to improve and maintain their quality of life. Last but not least, DMPs were introduced with the aim of improving medical treatment in the long term
The programs have been offered in Germany since 2002 by the statutory health insurances in cooperation with doctors. They include regular doctor's appointments with consultations and examinations as well as providing background information, for example through training. Medical practices that offer treatment as part of DMP programs must meet certain requirements and adhere to defined quality requirements.

The Clinic has currently DMP for people with the following chronic diseases:
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus
• Coronary artery disease (CHD)
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Bronchial asthma

Anyone who has several of these diseases can only claim a DMP for one disease.

What is the purpose of a disease management program?
The primary goal of a DMP is to reduce the symptoms associated with a chronic disease and to stop its progression. Further goals are to avoid complications and consequential damage or accompanying illnesses as much as possible.
In addition, the structured treatment is intended to provide support in dealing with the disease and show possibilities for dealing with the requirements of the treatment in everyday life. All of this is intended to improve the quality of life of the participants.
Another concern of a DMP is to improve the collaboration between the various specialists and facilities that care for a patient, for example between family physicians and specialists, clinics and rehabilitation facilities. This is to ensure that the individual treatment steps are well coordinated and, for example, unnecessary double examinations are avoided.

What are the advantages of a DMP?
Chronic diseases are complex and require long-term, regular treatment that should be tailored to a patient's circumstances. A disease management program can be a way to cope better with a disease in the longer term and to improve the success of the treatment. For example, participating in a DMP could offer the following benefits:
• Those who enroll in a DMP work together with doctors who have dealt particularly thoroughly with the treatment of a disease.
• The doctors involved in a DMP are precisely informed about the course of the therapy and can adjust to someone better at the agreed regular appointments than would be possible in a normal consultation hour.
• All therapists and carers involved, whether outpatient or inpatient, are encouraged to coordinate their measures with one another.
• Special training courses can make it easier for chronically ill people to be well informed and actively involved in their treatment and to find ways to live with their illness as well as possible.
Some people also find a structured treatment plan helpful because it relieves them of some practical efforts in connection with their illness: For example, they no longer have to search for suitable specialists or clinics themselves if they do not want to.