Abstract
Purpose/Objectives: Like the professional definitions of case management, the practice of hospital management is a dynamic process. However, because hospital case management programs come in so many shapes and sizes, there is a widespread tendency to forego the process and instead focus on the static tasks associated with utilization review and discharge plan arrangements. As a result, the research identifying best practices is inhibited and hospital case management practice is constrained. This article speaks to the need for a standard approach to hospital case management and offers a model that positions the hospital case manager as the primary patient advocate and physician partner that are among the essential ingredients for successful participation in accountable care organizations, progression-of-care management, and transitions of care support.
Primary Practice Setting: Acute care hospitals, integrated delivery systems.
Implications for case management practice:
1. Hospital case managers must practice in accordance with the professional process of case management.
2. Hospital case management programs must be structured in such a way as to support the professional process of case management.
3. The roles and responsibilities of hospital case managers must be unmistakably defined to make certain that proactive advocacy is visible as the essential ethical obligation.