Three in 10 case managers say workload is unmanageable

November 1, 2010
Case Management Monthly

CMM asked hospital case management professionals what tasks their facilities expect them to perform and how those responsibilities affect their productivity in the CMM Job Responsibilities Survey. Nearly 500 case managers, discharge planners, social workers, clinical documentation improvement (CDI) specialists, and appeals specialists responded to the survey. Responses broke down as follows: 

Should CMS eliminate observation services?

November 1, 2010
Case Management Monthly

CMS has seen an increase in the number of extended observation stays and wants to know why. That was the reason it gave for holding an August 24 listening session regarding the matter. The reason providers misuse observation services may not have been as interesting as the solution proposed by some callers—namely, that CMS should abolish observation services. 

BOOST patient satisfaction and reduce readmissions

November 1, 2010
Case Management Monthly

Project BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older Adults Through Safe Transitions) is gaining popularity among providers nationwide as a method to reduce preventable hospital readmissions. Since the program began in September 2008, more than 1,400 facilities have downloaded the free toolkit from the Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM) website, and 65 sites have enrolled in the mentorship program. (See the “All about BOOST” sidebar below for more information on Project BOOST.)  

Top 10 hospital case manager best practices

November 1, 2010
Case Management Monthly

As the case manager’s role has matured, specific best practices have proven to be a valuable conduit to the provision of care coordination, outcome achievement, and quality of care. 

Persistence pays off with difficult psychiatric patient

November 1, 2010
Case Management Monthly

The case management team has a difficult time finding a psychiatric unit for a bipolar patient.