So you've looked at your readmission data, and you've found a problem. One nursing home or SNF is sending back a large number of patients for readmission within 30 days.
In December 2011, Detroit Medical Center (DMC) got word that it had been selected as one of only 32 medical organizations in the country to participate in Medicare's new Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO).
New nurses just out of school often find themselves at work alongside veterans who have little patience for those who don't perform at par. It's no different for nurse case managers.
Case managers want their patients to leave the hospital with a successful transition to home or aftercare and not have to return to the hospital unnecessarily.
Many case managers today feel like they're overburdened, but it may not be clear whether they're actually shouldering too much work. This is because the industry doesn't really have any validated figures indicating what the typical caseload is-or should be, says Pat Stricker, MEd, RN, senior consultant at CMI in Little Rock, AR.
Most case managers have had a spat with a physician at one time or another.
Maybe a physician discharged a patient who may not have been clinically ready for discharge, or perhaps a physician disagreed with a case manager about the proper level of care for a particular patient.
Earlier last decade, when patients came into the ED at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, DE, they were difficult to track. In 2004, Christiana served about 90,000 patients per year. It was a busy place. Patients were bustled from their rooms to testing locations and back again.
It's January. Time to ring in the new year and make some resolutions for 2012.Case managers have a busy year ahead. They'll be dealing with everything from their typical day-to-day business to regulatory changes that could have a broader impact on their jobs.
