Case Management

Mentor moment: The ED case manager plays a key role regardless of patient status

Case Management Weekly, November 3, 2010

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Every hospital should have a case management presence in the emergency department (ED). Regardless of whether the ED determines the patient’s admission status to be inpatient or outpatient, the case manager plays a large role in ensuring that the patient receives the appropriate level of care and assistance for overcoming any social or financial barriers.

Inpatient 

If the patient meets inpatient criteria, the case manager works with the interdisciplinary team to ensure that the care is timely and appropriate. The case manager also begins to create a discharge plan. Remember, discharge planning needs to begin as soon as the patient enters your organization. Most patients want to get medical care, feel better, and go back to their pre-hospitalization life as quickly as possible. The case manager completes a social and financial assessment for all patients to identify any issues that will impede the appropriate discharge plan and/or keep the patient from receiving the appropriate care after discharge. The case manager communicates the goals of the discharge plan to the team members so that they can implement it as soon as the patient is ready for discharge.

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