CMLC Activities
Consumer Friendly Definition and FAQs
Case Management assists people to navigate through the healthcare and community systems to find solutions that work.
In September, 2003, a consumer survey to test the explanation is underway and will be reported at the next meeting.
Data Mining
This project originated from an offer by URAC to explore data mining of information gained through the Case Management Accreditation program.
URAC CM Accreditation Standards and Application Forms were reviewed to determine what data might be obtained through sources available at URAC.
URAC staff were consulted about how to proceed. Two questions were raised:
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What research questions do we want to answer; and
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What resources will be provided to gather and analyze the data?
The answer to the second question is easier than the first: Michael Garrett (Qualis Health) and Deb Smith (AMS, Inc.) will volunteer to collect the data at URAC headquarters in Washington DC; AMS, Inc. will analyze the data. Michael is a member of URAC's Accreditation Committee and Deb is a member of URAC's Health Standards Committee. Only access to applications and desk top review materials will be requested from URAC. Confidentiality of the materials can be assured and only anonymous descriptive and aggregate quantitative data produced.
A form has been created detailing data that could be obtained through review of URAC accreditation applications and desk top review materials. There is still work to do on creating an actual data collection tool from this listing.
Next tasks:
- Determine if CMLC wants to go forward with this project;
- State research questions to be answered;
- Obtain URAC approval to proceed.
Research Blue Print to serve as an organizing plan to promote
and disseminate research that supports understanding of what case management
is, how to do it well, what outcomes it produces and the value of case
management in healthcare. A task force with representatives from CCMA,
University of Arizona, CCMC Foundation and Michigan State University met to
begin, and a draft is in production.
See Current Blueprint
Cost and Quality Outcome Metrics (QCOM) and ROI Tools can be
gathered and shared to promote consistency in statement of cost savings and
other case management outcomes. Three participants agreed to gather literature
and existing tools as an initial step toward creation of a case management
depository.
Availability/Competency/Education(ACE) strategies will include
definition of core competencies and means to enable case managers to reach
them, such as training and outreach. The ACCM Leadership Council will develop
an initial plan of action to be discussed further.
Accessibility, Competency and Education
I. Education
| Education drives accessibility and competency. There are a growing number of accredited schools of nursing, social work and other health disciplines teaching case management. Some of these programs are designed for distance learning. There are also a number of case management certificate programs housed within continuing education programs of schools. Some are teaching single courses where others have an emphasis in case management and a particular clinical area, like case management and the elderly. There also are continuing education courses offered by a variety of sources that purport to train case managers at the entry level. Overall, there is a shortage of appropriate educational programs teaching case management. The most common way a person learns case management is through on the job training. There is no standard curriculum in case management, though some progress has been made on identification of case management knowledge domains and much is written in the literature about both preparation and orientation of case managers.
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We propose:
- A. Identification of as many of case management education programs as possible, creating a compendium of sources, covering both quantity and quality. The latter requires application of some objective criteria; that adopted by CMSA several years ago for CE programs provides a starting point.
Survey identified programs and collect basic information about each program. This could lead to a directory of programs in case management. Such a directory could be made available on line.
- Subsequent to identification of programs, collect competency information from each program in terms of the learning outcomes planned.
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II. Competency
| Competency among case managers varies depending on preparation, experience, and employer demands. The goal of this effort would be to develop competency statements for case managers. Competencies would be collected from educational programs surveyed. CMSA Standards of Practice provide a foundation. In addition, we would review the literature and also review certification criteria and knowledge domains underlying the exams in drafting competency statements. Employers of case managers could also be surveyed for competency statements. A consensus group of CMLC participants would be tasked to review the above information and write competency statements. These statements would be field reviewed for validity.
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III. Accessibility
| Case managers are in demand and many positions are unfilled. In part this is because there is a shortage of many health workers, particularly nurses and social workers - two fields case managers typically are drawn from. The nursing shortage plays an interesting dynamic in case management recruitment. Some nurses are leaving hospitals and other organized nursing services in favor of case management because of working environments. But there still are not enough competent case managers. In order to improve accessibility of case managers, we must address education of case managers and competency. Then it may be possible for CMLC to discuss the nature of positive working conditions that foster excellent case management practice, productivity and satisfaction.
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