Managing Chronic Conditions: Your Guide to Finding Help

Living with chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis can feel like a big challenge. You might need to see several doctors, take multiple medications, and figure out how to manage it all. If this sounds overwhelming, you’re not alone: 60% of U.S. adults (about 129 million people) have at least one chronic condition, and 40% (86 million) deal with two or more. The good news? With the right help, you can make your health journey easier. This blog post explains how to find support.

Why Chronic Conditions Can Be Tough

Chronic diseases are health problems that last a long time and need ongoing care. For example, if you have diabetes and high blood pressure, you might see a diabetes doctor, a heart doctor, and a regular doctor, which can mean 7–10 doctor visits a year. If you have multiple conditions, you could see 5–7 specialists each year, which can make you feel tired and stressed—sometimes called “specialist fatigue.” In fact, 30–40% of people with chronic conditions feel anxious or sad because managing care is so hard.

But don’t worry—there are ways to make this easier! Health coaches and other tools can help you feel more in control. Here’s how to find the right support.

Finding the Right Help for Your Health

1. Make Your Regular Doctor Your Main Helper

Your primary care doctor (PCP) can be like the leader of your health team, making sure all your specialists work together. Why it helps: When your doctor coordinates care, you might need 15–20% fewer specialist visits, and everyone stays on the same page.

How to Do It:
Find a PCP who knows about chronic conditions. Ask if they’re part of a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH), which helps organize care and cuts specialist visits by 10–15%.
Ask your PCP to get reports from all your specialists and meet with you every few months to review your plan.
Make sure they use electronic health records (EHRs), which 70% of organized doctors use to share info with specialists.
Quick Tip: Keep a list of your doctors and medicines to share at every visit. This helps avoid repeated tests, which happens to 20% of patients.

2. Get Support from a Health Coach

Health coaches are trained people, like nurses or special guides, who help you understand and manage your health. They’re super helpful for the 86 million Americans with multiple chronic conditions, making it easier to deal with doctors and take care of yourself.

How Health Coaches Help You Learn

Health coaches explain your conditions in simple ways so you understand what’s going on.

What They Do:
Teach you how your conditions connect, like how being overweight affects diabetes and heart disease. This helps 20–30% of people understand their health better.
Make learning easy, especially since 20% of adults struggle to understand medical terms.
Use tools like phone apps or charts to make learning fun, boosting interest for 15% of people.
Example: A coach might draw a chart showing how your diet affects your blood sugar and heart, making it easier to follow your doctors’ advice.
Why It Helps: Coaching helps you learn more about your health, cutting extra specialist visits by 10–15%.

How Health Coaches Help You Manage Your Health

Coaches teach you how to take care of your conditions every day, so you don’t need to see doctors as often.

What They Do:
Help you set small goals, like walking 30 minutes a day or eating less salt, making it 25% easier to stick to changes.
Show you how to use tools like blood sugar monitors or fitness trackers, with 10–15% of people using these to check their health.
Encourage you when you’re feeling unmotivated, helping 60% of people feel more confident.
Example: If you have arthritis and diabetes, a coach might teach you exercises that don’t hurt your joints but help your blood sugar, cutting doctor visits by 10–20%.
Why It Helps: Coaching lowers hospital stays by 15–20% and emergency visits by 10%.

How to Find a Health Coach

Where to Look:
Ask your doctor or hospital—places like Kaiser Permanente offer coaching for chronic conditions.
Check if your insurance, like Medicare Advantage, covers coaching; 25% of coaching happens online.
Private coaches cost $50–$150 an hour, but programs like the CDC’s Diabetes Prevention Program are often free.
Quick Tip: Try online coaching if you live far from doctors, especially if you’re among the 10–15% of rural people with travel issues.

3. Use Apps and Technology

Technology can make managing doctors easier. Why it helps: Apps and online tools cut in-person doctor visits by 15–20% for people with chronic conditions.

How to Do It:
Use patient portals like MyChart to check appointments and test results—50% of people used these in 2023.
Try apps like Medisafe to remind you to take medicines, helping 15–25% of users stick to their schedule.
Use online doctor visits (telehealth), covered by 80% of insurance plans and Medicare.
Quick Tip: Share data from fitness trackers (like Fitbit) with your coach or doctor to check your health without extra visits.

4. Join a Support Group

You’re not the only one feeling stressed—30% of people with chronic conditions join support groups to feel better. These groups let you share tips and feel supported.

How to Do It:
Find groups through places like the American Heart Association or American Diabetes Association.
Check online groups on X or Reddit using searches like “chronic illness” or “diabetes help.”
Ask your health coach for group suggestions.
Why It Helps: Support groups help 30% of people stick to their health plans and feel less alone.

5. Handle Money and Stress Worries

Doctor visits can be expensive ($100–$300 per visit), and 30–40% of people feel anxious about their health.

How to Do It:
Ask hospital social workers or programs like HealthWell Foundation for help with costs.
Use free mental health support like NAMI’s helpline to deal with stress.
Work with a health coach to feel less worried, which helps 15–20% of people feel less sad.

You’re Not Alone: The Numbers Show It

If you’re struggling with your health, these stats prove you’re not alone:

129 million adults (60%) have at least one chronic condition, and 86 million (40%) have more than one.
30–50% of people skip treatments because it’s hard to keep up, but health coaching makes it 25% easier to follow plans.
20% of older people make mistakes with medicines, but coaches and pharmacists cut this by 15–25%.
25% of people use online doctor visits, saving time and cutting specialist trips by 15–20%.
30–40% of people feel anxious, but coaching and support groups help 15–30% feel better.

These numbers show that lots of people face the same challenges, and help like health coaching really works.

Start Getting Help Today

You don’t have to manage your health alone. Here’s how to start today:

Call Your Doctor or Insurance: Contact your regular doctor or insurance (like Medicare) to ask about free health coaching. Many offer programs for conditions like diabetes or heart disease.
Check Free Resources: Go to CDC.gov for programs like the Diabetes Prevention Program, or visit HealthWellFoundation.org for help with doctor visit costs.
Find a Support Group: Look for groups through the American Heart Association or American Diabetes Association. You can also search X for “#ChronicIllness” or “#DiabetesSupport” to connect with others.
Talk to a Health Coach: Ask your hospital about online coaching, or find certified coaches at NBHWC.org.

With only 1 specialist for every 228 people with chronic conditions, getting help like a health coach is key to staying on track without feeling burned out. Take one step now: Call your doctor, check a website, or join a group. You can do this, and millions of people are on this journey with you!

Perez Health Coaching