The Future of Pediatrics: Redefining Chronic Care

The term “chronic care” typically is applied to health care services provided to patients with chronic medical conditions. However, if chronic care is used to describe “a planned, longitudinal, continuous and coordinated, forward-looking approach to providing health care and promoting health and well-being” it can equally well be applied to preventive care, for at its best, preventive care addresses health beliefs and behaviors with lifelong consequences. Edward Schor, MD, suggests that pediatric practices may need to rethink how they are organized in order to provide this new kind of chronic care.