2023 National Case Management Week Giveaway

What is the most important thing you do as a case manager to show those you serve that they are at the center of care?

I am currently working in Home Health as a Case Manager. The most important thing that I do for patient center care is to listen and have good communication skills.  When I  first meet a new patient, I always take a moment to "pause" and "listen" to their story, as everyone wants to be heard, then I validate their story, provide support, educate, and ask the patient, what is the most important thing I do to help them today?  

My nurse case management role is to help patients during transfers of care from a recent hospital discharge or discharge from a skilled nursing facility. I help to educate and assist patients to navigate the health care system during this time and promote patient connections with their primary care providers and specialists. If I assess that the patient's doesn't have appointments or lack of specialty providers then I help to facilitate medical specialist referrals from the primary care doctor to be connected for future. I also educate why it is important to have a good relationship with a primary care provider and why it is necessary to make frequent follow up appointments with them to manage their health care needs. 

Hi Ellen

Your post is one of the most important aspects of case management which is treat others as unique individuals.

1.  What is the most important thing you do as a case manager to show those you serve that they are at the center of care?

I notice.   All persons want to be seen and heard - they want to know that they matter.   Whether it is acknowledging the pain, concern, or joy in a voice during a phone call or providing a smile of reassurance and support during a face-to-face meeting; it is important that case managers are present with those we are supporting. 

2.  What three things should you always keep top of mind when guiding clients through the current healthcare system?

a.  Clear communication is key:   Use interpreters when needed.   Provide verbal and written information using simple and concise wording.      Use teach back to determine the client's understanding of what was said. 

b.  Keep the "person" front and center:    Our patients' stories began long before they became a patient with diabetes or a person with cancer.    A person's illness is simply another chapter - it does not define their whole identity. 

c.  It is important to educate and empower.   Our role is not to do everything for our patients.  We must teach them how to navigate the healthcare system and give them the tools and strategies to do so.  

3. In a few words, tell us how today's case manager can become a change agent within their organization.

Case Managers have the unique position of seeing "both sides of the story" so to speak.   We know how our organizations function and we also know the experience of our patient/clients with that organization.   This situation enables us to lessons learned from our patients' experiences (positive and negative) and use it to improve how we provide care and support.  

4.  What three characteristics do you think are most valuable for those considering a career in case management?

1.  Ability to listen effectively

2.  Creativity - sometimes we have to think outside of the box to tackle a problem

3.  Ability to think critically

I like your post indicating that effective communication is the key to establishing and engaging a professional relationship with the client/clients support system.

What is the most important thing you do as a case manager to show those you serve that they are at the center of care? Involving patient in discharge assessment conversation to ensure safe, appropriate level of care.

What three things should you always keep top of mind when guiding clients through the current healthcare system? Patient level of understanding, discharge plan of care is individualized, optimization of available resources

In a few words, tell us how today's case manager can become a change agent within their organization.  Be a effective communicator involving entire interdisciplinary team, patient and patient's family.

What three characteristics do you think are most valuable for those considering a career in case management? Team player, empathetic, effective communicator

Q: What is the most important thing you do as a case manager to show those you serve that they are at the center of care?

Listen and respect.

There are a lot of buzz words out there for case managers - SDoH,  DEI, inclusivity, preventable, engagement, culture, boundaries, and more. All of there are simply fancy words for "listen and respect". Listening leads to respect.

By listening you hear the hesitation in a new mother's voice. By listening you hear the cultural preferences not spoken by the immigrant's family. By listening to the nonverbal cues you see a child asking for help from an abuser.  By listening you hear the loneliness in an octogenarians voice and see sadness reflected in his eyes.  By listening we know what questions to ask next. 

When respecting we validate the patients autonomy.We don't have to "like" what our patients do or don't do. But we don't have to. We just need to listen to what they have to say and respect their humanity - their decisions.   By respecting we understand where the patient is coming from and where the patient wants to go next. And why. Then we, as the professionals, get to figure out the how. 

Effective communication along with applying casemanagement principles to meet the clients/ clients family needs is  the essence of the clients care planning

What is the most important thing you do as a case manager to show those you serve that they are at the center of care?

I work in hospital case management. For those of us that work in the hospital, it is a typical day of work. However, for our patients, it is a very vulnerable and often scary time in their lives. It is crucial that our patients feel heard and that their feelings are validated. We often see patients on one of the worst days of their lives and approaching discharge planning with compassion and understanding is pivotal in showing our patients that they are at the center of our care. 

What three things should you always keep top of mind when guiding clients through the current healthcare system?

1) Guide patients through what is and is not covered by their insurance plan. For anything that isn't covered, being able to provide alternative ways of obtaining what they need is vital. There are a plethora of community resources to meet patients needs. 

2) Ensure your intervention will be successful and don't make assumptions. A patient may be labeled as non-compliant when there are environmental factors at play. Perhaps they haven't been making their follow up appointments due to transportation barriers or they are a caretaker for someone else. Give patients the time to explain their barriers to work through them so they will be successful. 

3) Insurance can be very confusing for someone navigating the healthcare system. Educate patients on their rights and how to navigate appeals! 

In a few words, tell us how today's case manager can become a change agent within their organization.

Education and communication are key to success at being a change agent. Ensure you are communicating with the whole inter-disciplinary team to ensure the clinical team is all on the same page and aware of any limitations in establishing services for a patient. There are often alternatives that can be explored but without excellent communication, your patient can easily fall through the cracks. 

What three characteristics do you think are most valuable for those considering a career in case management?

1) You must be able to think outside of the box! We often have to be very creative in our problem solving to meet our patients needs. 

2) Communication is key. You want to ensure the whole team is on the same page and that your patient is agreeable to the plan you're developing. They need to be an active participant for success. 

3) The ability to multi-task and ability to pivot. Often times plan A doesn't work out so always have a plan B and even a plan C in the works so that if one doesn't work out you are already prepared with an alternative. Let your patient know what plan B is in the event they can't get their first choice approved, often due to insurance limitations. 

1.  What is the most important thing you do as a case manager to show those you serve that they are at the center of care?

I always include them in decisions that will have an impact on their care and provide options and resources for them to make an informed decision. 

2.  What three things should you always keep top of mind when guiding clients through the current healthcare system?

The system isn't perfect, and we can help ease the frustration by helping out/coordinating care. Acknowledge the patient's frustrations and figure out how to make sure the patient has a better experience by guiding them. Expect barriers and keep trying to work around the barriers without getting frustrated. 

3.  In a few words, tell us how today's case manager can become a change agent within their organization.

By speaking up more about the work we do and why it's just as important to be a patient advocate and help coordinate their care to make it seamless. 

4.  What three characteristics do you think are most valuable for those considering a career in case management?

Patience, Empathy, and Drive for results

What three characteristics do you think are most valuable for those considering a career in case management?
 

1. Must be a clear communicator. Communication is so important in CM. 
 

2. Problem solver. 
 

3. Must be able to multi-task. 

What is the most important thing you do as a case manager to show those you serve that they are at the center of care? Advocate for my clients and allow them to be vocal in their care.

What three things should you always keep top of mind when guiding clients through the current healthcare system? 1) Clients have rights

2) Advocate 

3) autonomy 

In a few words, tell us how today's case manager can become a change agent within their organization. 

Today's case management must keep abreast of the current events and economic changes in the world and in Healthcare.  These changes have an enormous effect on the care of our clients. 

What three characteristics do you think are most valuable for those considering a career in case management?

1) Critical thinking 

2) being able to work with a collaborative team

3) being able to to put out plenty of fires

What three things should you always keep top of mind when guiding clients through the current healthcare system?  

1.  Patience.  The many establishments are working with minimal staff but they are very compassionate.  

2.  Speak up for yourself.  Don't let someone tell you what you are feeling.  Be your own advocate!

3.  Create a support system among family/friends as you navigate your health.  It is nice to have others who you can outreach to in times of need. 

What is the most important thing you do as a case manager to show those you serve that they are at the center of care?

As a patient advocate first and foremost I make sure the patient knows that their goals and needs are leading the planning, education and decision making.

What three things should you always keep top of mind when guiding clients through the current healthcare system?

I am their guide not their leader.  Case management is something I do with patients not just for them. 

The ethical pillars of case management:  autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice and veracity must guide everything I do.

In a few words, tell us how today's case manager can become a change agent within their organization.

Case management is about providing the best possible care in a cost-effective manner.  Value over volume is driving payment decisions and case management is the key to successfully engaging patients and providing optimal care.

What three characteristics do you think are most valuable for those considering a career in case management?

Case managers must have excellent critical thinking skills, must be great communicators and be team players.

1) What is the most important thing you do as a case manager to show those you serve that they are at the center of care?

   Being a Case Manager requires respect and a deep need to be a Liaison for each and every Client regardless of their nationality, ethnic background, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs. These Clients are in a very difficult stuation that can have a huge impact on their lives and they need someone to help them Champion through their battles. Allowing them to have direct input in the decision making allows them to have control and feel they have someone in their corner to support and guide them.

2) What three things should you always keep top of mind when guiding clients through the current healthcare system?

   First of all you must consider and understand the Clients environment, support systems, strengths as well as challenging barriers.

   Secondly, what are the goals of the Client? Their goals may be different and need to be respected.

   Managed Medicare and other private insurances propose a huge challenge for Case Mangers in assisting to navigate through all the rules and red tape in acheiving the best care planning outcome for our Clients. So many insurance companies have "Gate Keepers" that we need to collaborate with on behalf of our Clients. This requires a solid knowledge of the various insurance policies and criteria.

3) In a few words, tell us how today's case manager can become a change agent within their organization.

   Case Managers are a voice for the Clients. We are Liaisons for the patient and collaborate with multiple disciplines including Physicians to make sure the care coordination is following the best practices for that Client. 

4) What three characteristics do you think are most valuable for those considering a career in case management?

Champion for your Clients:

   A Case Manager needs to have a desire to be a Champion for their Clients. We must sometimes face challenges, ethical and care coordination decisions that may be met with opposition. 

Respect for Clients:

   Respect for your Clients is something that is required in order to fulfill your duties as a Case Manager. The Client's rights are to be respected at all times.

Nonjudgemental:

   A nonjudgemental attitude goes along with respecting your Clients. If you cannot step away from being judgemental, you are being unfair to your Clients.

A Case Manager is a unique and challenging career choice. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of having a positive impact on health care practices and Client outcomes.