Chronic Disease
Living with a chronic disease can have a significant impact on the quality of your day-to-day life. Many chronic diseases do not have a cure, and therefore require long-term management of the disease to reduce its overall affect on your life.
Chronic disease in Australia is increasing in prevalance due to our ageing population and lifestyles. With improvements in living conditions, vaccinations and medicines, many diseases that often contibuted to premature death are a thing of the past.
Common chronic diseases in Australia include:
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Arthritis
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Dementia
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary (COPD) disease
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Renal Impairment
Good medical care at a primary health level will often achieve positive outcomes for those suffering from a chronic disease. General Practitioners play a key role in coordinating a patient's care from other health services, such as specialists, dietitians, podiatrists and physiotherapists.
How We Care
Living with a chronic disease can be physically, emotionally and financially draining. Our doctors believe in an integrated and multidisciplinary approach towards helping you to manage your own disease. This may involve coordinating your care amongst allied health professionals, specialists and hospitals. We will also provide you with contacts for community support organisations.
The onset of many chronic diseases can be prevented through maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Many chronic conditions can be reversed if detected early. Individuals at higher rsik due to their family history and genetic make up can be screened and encouraged to take pre-emptive action. Even if you have already developed a chronic condition, action can result in controlling it with fewer medications. It is very easy to become discouraged unless you feel the support and encouragement of others.
You can speak to one of our doctors to discuss your risk profile. This may involve the doctor assessing your family history, and conducting regular tests such as: cholesterol levels, blood-glucose levels, weight and blood pressure measurements.