Long COVID – integrated approaches to chronic disease management?

The global burden of chronic disease is soaring, increasing pressure on healthcare services.1 In the United States alone, it is estimated that chronic disease accounts for 86% of total annual healthcare costs,2 and similar figures have been demonstrated across Europe.3 Historically positioned to address acute illnesses, there is growing pressure for healthcare systems to manage areas of chronic disease.4 There is no doubt that the prevalence of chronic disease and the pressure that it brings have increased in recent decades and are on a frightening upward trajectory. This has in part been impacted by increased public awareness, advances in medicine, an ageing population, and a reduction in the adoption of healthy living behaviors.5 Collectively, this represents a huge challenge for global healthcare systems, which have experienced widespread funding and resource cuts and with little or no investment in people.6 In recent times, healthcare systems globally have been stretched beyond any imaginable limits by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic