Harrison Christopher, Britt Helena, Miller Graeme, Henderson Joan
BPsych (Hons), MSocHlth, is a Senior Research Analyst at the Family Medicine Research Centre, University of Sydney, New South Wales.
Aust Fam Physician. 2013 Dec;42(12):845.
As Australia's population ages, it is expected that the number of people with multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity) will increase. Studies have shown that multimorbidity is associated with reduced quality of life for patients and increased demand on health resources, complexity of care and patient mortality. Similarly to many health care systems around the world, Australia's secondary and tertiary health care has a single disease focus (eg. diabetes mellitus or mental health). However, the complexity of care in managing patients with multiple chronic conditions, often with competing demands, is best handled in primary care by general practitioners (GPs).
随着澳大利亚人口老龄化，预计患有多种慢性病（共病）的人数将会增加。研究表明，共病与患者生活质量下降、对卫生资源需求增加、护理复杂性以及患者死亡率上升有关。与世界上许多医疗保健系统类似，澳大利亚的二级和三级医疗保健以单一疾病为重点（例如糖尿病或心理健康）。然而，管理患有多种慢性病的患者时护理的复杂性，通常存在相互竞争的需求，由全科医生在初级保健中处理最为合适。
