the DMAA - Disease Management to Care Continuum

Can you keep track of all these acronyms? Here's an interesting twist. The DMAA stands for: The Care Continuum Alliance. Shouldn't that be the CCA? They used to be called the Disease Management Association of America, but now they've re-branded their association to be called the Care Continuum Alliance. They still have their journal titled "Disease Management" and their focus continues to be on population health.


Here's a description from their corporate website:

We believe the highest achievable health status is attained through the promotion and alignment of population health improvement by:

• Promoting a proactive, patient-centric focus across the care continuum;
• Convening health care professionals across the care continuum to share and integrate practice models;
• Emphasizing the importance of both healthful behaviors and evidence-based care in preventing and managing chronic conditions;
• Promoting high quality standards for and definitions of key components of wellness, disease and, where appropriate, case management, and care coordination programs as well as support services and materials;
• Identifying, researching, sharing and encouraging innovative approaches and best practices care delivery and reimbursement models;
• Establishing consensus-based outcomes measures and demonstrating health, satisfaction, and financial improvements achieved through wellness, disease and case management, and care coordination programs;
• Supporting delivery system models that assure appropriate care for chronic conditions and coordination among all health care providers including strategies such as the Chronic Care Model, the physician-led medical home concept, and the disease management model;
• Encouraging the widespread adoption and interoperability of health information technologies;
• Advocating the principles and benefits of population health improvement to public health officials, including state and federal government entities;
• Underscoring the level of commitment to population health improvement and timeframes necessary to realize the full benefits.