The Benefits of Assigning Case Managers to Individuals with Diabetes
Running head: THE BENEFITS OF ASSIGNING CASE MANAGERS
The Benefits of Assigning Case Managers to Individuals with Diabetes
Denise White
Florida Atlantic University
Teresa Barret, MSN, ARNP
NUR3160
April 15, 2009
There are many illnesses and diseases causing people to have a poor quality of life. Diseases such as diabetes (type I and II), are increasing in alarming numbers due to poor management by both healthcare teams and patients. According to Wikipedia (2009), the role of case manager was implemented to help coordinate a patient’s care to both improve continuity and quality of care. Assigning case managers to individuals with diabetes significantly reduce emergency room visits, blood sugar levels, and secondary complications from diabetes.
Case management nursing evolved in the mid-1980s as a way of managing health care costs and patient length of stay. Case management is multifaceted and is best defined as a procedure to plan, seek, and monitor services for different social agencies and staff on behalf of a patient (Wikipedia, 2009). The following summarizes Chitty and Black’s view on the functions of case manager: A case manager is an individual who assess, plans, facilitate, and is an advocate for the patient. This involves gathering information from patient and family members about condition, planning to enhance outcomes and reduce payer’s liability, facilitating communication among all parties involved, and advocating for patient’s individualized needs. (Chitty & Black, 2007, pp. 368) An important tool that makes case management successful in helping patients achieve the highest quality of living is the use of evidence-based practice. According to Chitty & Black, (as cited in Cope, 2003, p.97), evidence-based practice (EBP) means using the best available research findings “to make clinical decisions that are most effective and beneficial for patients”. In a Baltimore emergency room (ER), a study was conducted to assess what
The Benefits of Assigning Case Managers to Individuals with Diabetes
Denise White
Florida Atlantic University
Teresa Barret, MSN, ARNP
NUR3160
April 15, 2009
There are many illnesses and diseases causing people to have a poor quality of life. Diseases such as diabetes (type I and II), are increasing in alarming numbers due to poor management by both healthcare teams and patients. According to Wikipedia (2009), the role of case manager was implemented to help coordinate a patient’s care to both improve continuity and quality of care. Assigning case managers to individuals with diabetes significantly reduce emergency room visits, blood sugar levels, and secondary complications from diabetes.
Case management nursing evolved in the mid-1980s as a way of managing health care costs and patient length of stay. Case management is multifaceted and is best defined as a procedure to plan, seek, and monitor services for different social agencies and staff on behalf of a patient (Wikipedia, 2009). The following summarizes Chitty and Black’s view on the functions of case manager: A case manager is an individual who assess, plans, facilitate, and is an advocate for the patient. This involves gathering information from patient and family members about condition, planning to enhance outcomes and reduce payer’s liability, facilitating communication among all parties involved, and advocating for patient’s individualized needs. (Chitty & Black, 2007, pp. 368) An important tool that makes case management successful in helping patients achieve the highest quality of living is the use of evidence-based practice. According to Chitty & Black, (as cited in Cope, 2003, p.97), evidence-based practice (EBP) means using the best available research findings “to make clinical decisions that are most effective and beneficial for patients”. In a Baltimore emergency room (ER), a study was conducted to assess what
References: Case Management. (2009, April 7). Retrieved April 11, 2009, from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_management Chitty, K.K., Black, B.P., (2007) Brunk, D. (2005, August). Intervention cut ED visits for blacks with diabetes. Family Practice News, 15 Coffman, S., (2001) Cope, D. (2003). Evidence-based practice: making it happen in your clinical setting. Clinical Journal of Onocology Nursing, 7(1), 97-98. Neuman Systems Model. (2009). Retrieved April 13, 2009, from http://neumansystemsmodel.org/