As good as it gets? : strategies for improving chronic care management : proceedings of the 14th annual health policy conference of the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, November 8, 2002

CHSPR's 17th annual health policy conference — As Good as It Gets? Strategies for Improving Chronic Care Management—brought together researchers, clinicians and high-level public servants from B.C. and the United States to discuss the challenges and opportunities surrounding chronic disease management. While British Columbia is ahead of the rest of Canada in this area, we're still at the beginning of a long journey. There was a general consensus among conference participants that there is an emerging global epidemic of chronic illness, and that the current system, which is focused on acute conditions, is not dealing with it effectively. The importance of co-morbidity—multiple chronic conditions—in the management of chronic illness care and in health planning was also recognized. The 'chronic care model' was a key point of reference in most discussions. Several chronic disease management initiatives were described, both from B.C. and from other jurisdictions, along with various methods of measuring chronic illness care. And there was both optimism and apprehension about how we are doing in our efforts to improve the way we care for people with chronic conditions.Non UBCMedicine, Faculty ofPopulation and Public Health (SPPH), School ofUnreviewedFacultyResearche