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Case management has become one of the most effective means by which a continuum of care functions effectively and efficiently. A complete examination of the application of continuum of care, The Case Management Workbook: Defining the Role of Physicians, Nurses, and Case Managers defines the roles of the case management team and provides an overview of key post acute venues of care. It supplies an overview of the process, its structure, and the responsibility of each member of the team. The book discusses how managing the care of the patient in today’s healthcare environment will take a concerted effort from the entire case management team—not just a handful of case managers.
The authors demonstrate that the case management team includes many more individuals than simply those with the title of case manager. The team must consist of key clinical personnel including the nurse, the physician and the case manager, each of whom have specific roles in case management. The book also highlights the role administration plays in assuring each member of the team is on board with the hospital’s or health system’s goal in assuring the patient is at the right place at the right time in their episode of care.
In the words of the authors, case managers are … the unsung heroes of effective healthcare delivery. They push and they prod, they inform and they educate, they provide valuable information to physicians and families with a common goal—to assure the patient is provided care in the most appropriate venue correlative to the medical resources needed and provided. In their book they explore a key byproduct of an effective case management system— the realization of an effective integrated health system whereby physicians and hospitals are aligned as caretakers of future health resources.
