Case management is a management approach for managing the various aspects of a patient’s health care by a multidisciplinary team to improve health outcomes and reduce health care expenditures. It is generally considered to be a challenging industry as it involves numerous moving parts with the lives of real people on the line. To that end, caseworkers are genuinely some of the unsung heroes in society. But what is casework, and what are some more prominent examples?
What Is Case Management?
Case management is the process of managing the different stages of a case or incident and is often associated with problem-solving. A case manager works on solving the issue at hand while looking into future possibilities to prevent future occurrences of similar cases. It is such a complex field that most organizations have opted to use specialist software to help them to manage. According to the team at https://caseworthy.com/, this software must be flexible enough to cope with the myriad demands that caseworkers face while being effortless to use and update on the fly. Case management ensures that an individual’s needs are met comprehensively by coordinating all of their care requirements, for example, addressing mental health needs, physical healthcare needs, medication requirements, discharge planning, and so forth.
In essence, it is a process where organizations ensure that their clients are receiving the appropriate services and treatments. It is a method of coordinating and facilitating services for people who need them. The following are some of the methods of case management:
- Developing a care plan to help new people access the appropriate care they need.
- Reviewing and adjusting treatment plans as necessary.
- Managing all aspects of care coordination, including matching providers with patients based on physical, social, or emotional needs.
- Engaging in outreach activities to identify those who may need case management services.
- Tracking progress over time, including whether people continue to use the service.
Furthermore, case management can be broken down into several categories, each with similar outcomes but handled differently. These can range from helping people find relevant employment to finding beds for the homeless and more. In addition to the more common categories, case management organizations can also provide:
- Youth and family services
- Set up community action programs
- Help those who have been victims of domestic abuse
- Assist those looking to get disability funding
- Find help for those with developmental disorders
- A wide range of senior citizen services
What Is A Case Manager?
In most cases, a case manager will be assigned to oversee the various aspects involved. Case managers focus on coordinating and linking services to promote their clients’ general well-being and self-sufficiency. The job can be gratifying, but it is also demanding and challenging to do successfully. The case manager is responsible for assessing an individual’s needs and developing a plan to meet those needs. Services may include:
- Mental health counseling
- Substance abuse rehabilitation
- Budgeting assistance
- Financial literacy training
- Other support programs
What Are The Different Types Of Case Management?
Case management consists of a set of actions and responsibilities taken to promote the best possible outcome for a patient, family, or other people. It is a bridge between healthcare providers and patients. With that said, several different models are used today.
Community Care
Community Case Management combines social work, counseling, and public health care into a cohesive approach to care for individuals and communities facing chronic illness and disability. It’s designed to be an inclusive process that focuses on improving the quality of life for those who require extensive medical care or other types of services. It is a strategy where there are no hospital beds available, and the community must provide care for both mentally and physically ill persons and their family members. Instead of trying to solve all of the community’s problems simultaneously, this approach aims to empower community members to focus on one or two specific needs at a time. Community case managers work as a link between the person with mental illness and other community resources.
In this technique, community members, family members, friends, neighbors are trained as case managers to identify those needs that they can address without professional help. They then become responsible for coordinating services from other sources in the wider community such as day programs, housing services, vocational training programs to meet those needs.
Intensive Comprehensive Care
Intensive Comprehensive Care Case Management is a nonmedical intensive care service that provides comprehensive care to people with chronic illnesses. This service has many benefits, including assisting elders with gainful activities, managing their finances, and providing transportation. It also provides the family of the client peace of mind because they know that their elder is in good hands. It is far more hands-on than the other options and involves a great deal of one-to-one work.
A case manager assigned to a comprehensive care patient will have to work beside the individual who needs help to facilitate the steps necessary to get them to where they need to be. Each case will vary depending on the retirements of the person. For instance, a case manager working closely with a homeless family will have different tasks to complete than one working with a victim of domestic violence and so on. In some extreme cases, it may involve completely rebuilding someone’s life to assist them in getting back on their feet after something drastic has happened to them in their life.
Rehabilitation-Oriented Community Care
In an effort to provide a holistic approach to care, case management programs are now integrating a wide range of services into their care plans. This is known as rehabilitation-oriented community care case management. These services include housing, employment support, education and training, and transportation assistance. In some ways, it is a combination of the previous two models, but taking on a more comprehensive approach that allows care to taper officer time to create a sense of individual accomplishment.
Management of cases is a complex field that can be divided into several categories. In order to provide these services, caseworkers must be able to deal with the specific demands that come with helping people get their lives back in order. Hopefully, this article has shed some light on this field and those who dedicate their lives to helping the vulnerable.