The concept of risk assessment in managing chronic diseases has been around for many years. For example, it was first introduced by Canadian employers in the 1980s as a way of changing the behaviour of employees. The early experience of health risk assessment was often disappointing. Without financial incentives and clear alternatives to treatment, behaviour of the patient, and often the provider, rarely changed sufficiently to make a difference. Unless the patient can see a direct self-interest, an affordable alternative to treatment and/or a financial gain to change, old habits eventually resume. So why bother doing a short risk assessment of your adult patients for … Continue reading →