Dartmouth Biomedical Libraries

Library Grand Rounds

Chronic Illness: Information Resources
for Primary Care Providers
May 6, 2003

Chronic disease has become our nation's greatest healthcare problem. Diabetes mellitus alone affects nearly six percent of the U.S. population. Advances in medicine have extended life expectancy, resulting in an unprecedented growth of chronic illness. Additionally, there is an increasing number of infants, children, and adolescents with chronic illness transitioning into adulthood.

Research Guide: Chronic Illness Information Resources

As a primary care provider, you need information about diagnosing and managing your patients with chronic disease, including treatment of long-term sequelae and medication management. And because a chronic illness impacts many aspects of an individual's life, you also need to provide information to your patients about such issues as:
-- patient education
-- advocacy
-- family and social issues
-- quality of life
-- health care costs

This Library Grand Rounds started with an introduction by William E. Boyle, Jr., M.D. (Professor of Pediatrics and of Community and Family Medicine; and namesake and co-founder of the William E. Boyle, Jr., M.D., Community Pediatrics Program), who summarized the issues surrounding chronic disease. Biomedical Librarians identified and reviewed the many web-based tools and resources available to assist you with the management of your patients with chronic disease.

Library Grand Rounds are a forum for presenting information resources and tools of interest to Dartmouth clinicians. Please contact Karen Odato, the Libraries' Education Coordinator, if you have questions, comments or suggestions for future Library Grand Rounds.

The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center designates this educational activity for up to one hour in Category I credit towards the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he or she actually spent in the educational activity. The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians