Integrating and Defragmenting Multi-Specialty Care for People With Multiple Long-Term Conditions.

Abstract

There is an increasing prevalence of people living with multiple long-term conditions (MLTC), defined as two or more long-term conditions. People with MLTC have reduced life expectancy and increased healthcare usage compared to people without MLTC. Most hospital healthcare systems have developed to deal with single conditions in isolation. For people with MLTC, this results in fragmentation of their care across multiple different specialty clinics, which can waste resources and is often unsatisfactory for patients and for their primary care clinicians. Clinical trials are commonly undertaken on patients with only a single condition and there is little evidence about care for patients with MLTC. We have developed an integrated multi-specialty clinic in which multiple specialists meet the patient in a single room at the same time to develop a realistic consensus management plan. Further research is needed to determine the most effective ways to deliver integrated healthcare for people with MLTC.