The Importance of Case Managers
Managed care is today’s prevalent model for managing the process for delivering health care and managing its costs. Payers and insurers no longer simply write checks to pay for health care services ordered by a physician; they become involved in decisions about how much care a patient receives, what kind and by which providers.
The Triple Aim – “improving the individual experience of care; improving the health of populations; and reducing the per capita costs of care for populations” was first published by Berwick and his research team in 2008, and has become the standard by which care is being delivered and measured across the nation. So complexity is everywhere, and, with increases in aging and chronically ill people, there is a critical need for a new approach to care.
“Case managers assist people to achieve their optimal level of wellness…”
The key individuals who are at the center of these complex spokes of the wheel of improving health, managing costs, and improving patient experiences are case managers. Case managers assist people to achieve their optimal level of wellness and function by understanding the person’s goals, the reality of their lives, and understanding how best to support them as individuals, not simply applying a pat standardized approach to meeting their needs.
The brand new curriculum developed within Care Excellence, commissioned by leaders in health plans, state agencies, and health care providers, has as its sole purpose to support the skills, growth, and development of the key people needed, case managers, to facilitate improved health care delivery for everyone.
Three Levels of Case Management Training
Care Excellence’s three levels of coursework assist those in case management roles to be knowledgeable and effective in all aspects of their practice, from assessment, to building interprofessional and interagency collaborations, from working with challenging populations to leading and mentoring others in their team. The details of the three levels of coursework can be found here: Foundational, Advanced Concepts, and Leadership.
Requiring expertise in traditional therapies as well as alternative and complimentary therapies, skilled case managers are also educators, teaching and supporting members in being self-directed and capable of making informed decisions that will enable them to reach their goals. Care Excellence is designed to provide deep understanding of these skills as well, to those who are new to their roles, or those whose experience calls for renewed or specialized training.
Care Excellence was built for care management needs now, with an eyes directed towards the future. With the new, broader focus that the changing environment of health care, requiring improved health for individuals, families, communities and the nation, Care Excellence provides the education needed for the pivotal roles of care managers, to meet these challenges