Chronic Care Vs Acute Care Essay

My understanding of chronic care vs. acute care, is the process of treating the two illnesses, and the time in which it takes to heal. In acute illnesses, these usually last no longer than 6 months. As with chronic illnesses, it can last a lifetime and can continue to get worse as time goes on. For example, an acute illness would be a girl who tested positive for a urinary tract infection, and a chronic illness would be a person with diabetes mellitus. The difference between these two are that one lasts a short amount of time, and can be cured, while the other example (diabetes mellitus) is long term and can be treated, but usually not cured. Because chronic illnesses have a healing process that takes much longer, chronic illnesses are treated differently than acute illness’. …show more content…
For instance, giving the patient an antibiotic medicine, proving directions on what the individual should be doing to speed up the healing process; such as peeing every 2 hours, refraining from sexual intercourse while on antibiotics, placing a heating pad on the pubic area for relief, taking ibuprofen for pain relief, and wiping from front to back. The main goal of acute illnesses is to treat the symptoms and infections that are present during the current time. With a chronic illness, the goal of treatment is to have the client live a fulfilling life, without their illness taking complete control of their life. For example, not having an exacerbation, feeling healthier, more energetic, and to decrease the dose of prescribed medicine. Because chronic illnesses is ongoing, the care is different because it isn’t just a quick recovery. There are resources provided to the patient on how to live with the