Ensuring rehabilitation and a full quality of life for patients with chronic non-infectious diseases

Chronic non-infectious diseases (CNID), such as heart and vascular disorders, malignant tumors, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive lung disease, obesity, are one of the most topical health problems for Lithuanian and Polish residents. In solving the problems of CNID three areas of medicine (prophylactics, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation) are important, as the diseases that begin in childhood are diagnosed most often in the mature age, and their consequences are manifested in an older age. The aim of this article was to discuss issues concerned with providing help for patients afflicted with CNID and devising an effective rehabilitation system for them. Efficiency of pharmacological and surgical treatments for patients with CNID is much lower than for patients with acute disorders. They progress slowly and exert damaging effects on patients’ biopsychosocial functions. When the outcomes of a disease are manifested as impaired biopsychosocial functions, a life of full quality can only be ensured with the establishment of effective rehabilitation. Rehabilitation should be long-term, complex and should involve elements of prophylactics. Investment in such a system is an investment in an inevitable future for each of us, and it always pays positive dividends.