It’s been a little more than a year since the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began. For case managers, it’s been a year filled with challenges and change. But despite its difficulties, the year also brought with it some important lessons about patient care and best practices.
Hannah looks down the heart transplant unit hallway. She has worked here as a heart transplant case manager for the past five years. In her position, Hannah has the unique opportunity to follow her patients across the care continuum, both before and after the transplant.
Case managers have had to make many adjustments during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but one of the more challenging aspects has been adapting to new ways of communicating with other members of the care team, according to industry experts.
Hospitalized novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients present unique challenges because their length of stay is often longer and more complex than the typical patient. Their course of illness can also be unpredictable, which makes planning difficult. When a patient is ready to leave the hospital, another set of challenges begins. Even a year into the pandemic, case managers still struggle to find postacute placements and anticipate and identify the needs of these patients.
Ellen, a case manager, works more than 40 hours every week on-site at her hospital. This has been her schedule since the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions were put in place. She is a single mother and decides, despite the virus risk, to work as many hours as possible.
The elimination of the IPO list is planned to be a gradual process that will take three years to fully implement. This year, CMS removed over 300 surgical procedures from the list, primarily cutting the list of musculoskeletal-related procedures, which was reduced from 1,700 to 1,441. The removal of these procedures from the IPO list allows doctors who perform them to be paid for procedures performed on an outpatient basis.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency (PHE), which is good news for organizations.
