JAMA Article Details HHS Initiative on Multiple Chronic Conditions and Progress To Improve Care

An overview of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiative designed to improve care for people with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) is featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The article, “Optimizing Health for the Multiple Chronic Conditions Population,” appears in the September 24 print edition (and is available online) and describes four goals and the progress made to improve care for people with MCCs. AHRQ Director Richard Kronick, Ph.D., is a co-author. The HHS initiative, called the Strategic Framework on Multiple Chronic Conditions, was announced in 2010 to address challenges related to the high health care costs and poor health outcomes for those with MCCs. The strategic framework, developed with private-sector input, provides HHS and its partners with a roadmap for improving the health status of persons with MCCs. The four overarching goals—with improvements noted for each—are as follows:

Fostering health systems change: New models of care, such as accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes, are being developed to manage care for individuals with MCCs.
Empowering individuals: Evidence-based self-management programs, such as one funded by the Administration on Aging at Stanford University, have helped improve care for people with MCCs.
Equipping providers: HHS works with stakeholders to refine clinical practice guidelines and provide educational and training initiatives to address care for people with MCCs.
Enhancing research: Examples include the Food and Drug Administration’s policy to examine recruitment in clinical trials to include people with MCCs and AHRQ’s funding to expand its nationwide MCC Research Network.

HHS will continue to release data on MCCs so health leaders can better identify specific populations and geographic areas to deliver more coordinated and comprehensive approaches to prevention and treatment.