Chronic Injustices Vs. Acute Illness

An acute illness versus a chronic illness has always been a definition I could easily define. Acute illnesses are sudden and often severe, for example an asthma attack or a broken bone. Chronic illnesses are prolonged and develop over time, such as asthma or osteoporosis. A chronic condition can develop into acute conditions as well; a child who has asthma could come into the ER with an exacerbation of their chronic condition, which is now an acute condition, an asthma attack. The way acute and chronic illnesses are taken care of should be in two separate ways because sometimes they do not correlate with each other and because they are two separate things.
Chronic care is a management system that needs all health care providers to work together to figure out the best outcome for the patient, whether it be primary care physicians, ophthalmologists, cardiac surgeons, or anyone taking
Time is of the essence in these situations; critical points need to be addressed first when teaching patients that present with acute illnesses. Especially if the patient is having an exacerbation of an underlying chronic disease; early prevention and continued monitoring should be re-taught. Teach back is an important tool to use when teaching patients with any kind of disease; people learn in different ways, but as long as the patient can repeat or show you how to inject insulin, for example, you’ve gotten across that medical language gap that we have between the health care worker and the patient.
The difference between chronic care and acute care is different in definition, but at the basis of it all, educating the patient is the most important aspect of health care. Knowledge is power and primary prevention is the key to a healthy American