As the rate of chronic conditions rises, redesigning the health care system to improve the care and management of these conditions is increasingly important. The chronic care model was [Page 153]introduced by the MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation at Group Health Research Institute in 1996 as an evidence-based framework designed to guide chronic care improvement. Since then the model has been adapted and applied to preventive care, patient-centeredness, and other quality-related practices and is now referred to as the care model. The care model calls for a systemwide approach to health care. The model outlines six system elements for improving chronic care—the health care organization, delivery system design, decision support, clinical information systems, self-management support, and community partnerships—and evidence-based practices within each one. These ...