Digital transformation could increase the burden of treatment on patients
Frances S Mair, Víctor M. Montori, Carl May
Abstract
The burden of treatment refers to the demands that healthcare professionals and systems place on patients and their support community, and the implications this has on their quality of life. 1 It is an important barometer of quality of care. It includes the work involved in self-management of care such as: gaining an understanding of chronic conditions, their management and implications; engaging with health and social care professionals, family, and friends to access care and treatments; putting self-management recommendations into practice; taking multiple medications; enduring side effects; attending appointments and investigations; enacting lifestyle and behaviour changes; self-monitoring activities and reconfiguring treatments to make them workable; and navigating complex care systems.