First home health case management job... what to expect and how to excel?

[godiva]

Attention home health case managers! :)

After being out of a job for a lengthy period of time, I lucked out. I am going to be hired as a case manager for a small home health agency. The problem is, I have no experience in case management, and I am a fairly new nurse with less than a year bedside experience. I am a BSN and was also in pharmacy school for five years, so I am very familiar with the medical side of things. I just don't know much about case management.

I want to be as prepared as possible. I am somewhat familiar with what a hospital case manager is responsible for, but I really don't know how those duties differ for a home health case manager. This agency provides services only to Medicaid patients. And I know next to nothing about how Medicaid works and how reimbursement is evaluated and provided. I am aware of the various certifications a case manager can apply for, and I plan to get these as soon as possible.

So...What do home health case managers do, exactly?

What should I do or study to excel?

Are there any sites on the web that you have used as a case manager to help you do your work?

Your advice, tips, helpful references, stories, and experiences are exceedingly appreciated!

[paradiseboundRN]

In Metro Detroit, home health case managers are home health nurses (visiting nurses). They are called case managers because they are responsible for managing the several disciplines (PT/OT/MSW/SPEECH) that are involved in the case. If this is what you're talking about then check the specialty board here for Home health nursing.