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‘Making case management history’ one story at a time

Case Management Monthly, December 1, 2009

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Case Management Monthly.

We want to see case management in any new legislation that comes out,” says Carol A. Gleason, MM, RN, CRRN, CCM, LRC, BCPC Chair of the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) Public Policy Committee. “Case managers are the key to healthcare reform.”

Qualified case managers are already performing many of the initiatives that lawmakers are proposing, and they understand what needs to change in order to make initiatives work.

Coordination of care, managing multi-disciplinary teams, and achieving better transitions of care are the pillars of effective case management. Case managers are often the leaders of multi-disciplinary teams. They create a care plan that provides the most appropriate care for the patient, while ensuring the care is covered. They also coordinate the patients’ transitions to the next level of care.

The problem is many legislators don’t know who case managers are, says Connie Commander, RN, BS, CCM, BC, ABDA, CPUR, president of Commander’s Premier Consulting Corp. in Pearland, TX, and former president of the CMSA.

Further complicating the situation, Commander says is the number of professionals who claim to be case managers but do not meet the Commission for Case Manager Certification criteria .
“When we talk about case management, we are talking about licensed professionals that are directing care and providing care,” Commander says.

To clarify what the case manger’s role, the CMSA public policy committee drafted the Case Management Model Act of 2009. The act explains the qualifications a case manager must have and shows lawmakers the areas of healthcare reform that need case managers.

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Case Management Monthly.

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