How does chronic condition management work?

When you have a difficult, ongoing medical condition, like diabetes, heart failure or depression, you need all the help you can get.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network offer programs designed to improve your quality of life and make managing your condition easier. These programs are called chronic condition management, and this is how they work.

There to care

As the name suggests, chronic condition management helps you better manage your illness, instead of letting it manage you. This happens through a combination of support and education. Chronic condition management provides support in several ways:

• In-person or phone-based aid
• A 24-hour nurse line staffed by registered nurses and other health professionals
• Coordination of care
• Help monitoring your illness
• Dietary support, to make sure you’re eating properly
• Reminders to take medication and get medication refills

Availability of these resources will vary based on your condition and insurance plan. Call the Customer Service number on the back of your enrollee ID card to find out which resources you can get.

Knowledge is power

Education is the core of chronic condition management. Depending on your illness, with chronic condition management you’ll:

• Learn to recognize triggers and early symptoms
• Learn to identify risk factors, reduce and avoid them
• Learn how to create and follow a treatment or management plan
• Get educational materials mailed to your home

How do you get help for a chronic illness? Simply call us or ask your doctor about chronic condition management.