National Case Management Week

It is National Case Management Week. EZHealthCare wants to acknowledge all the Case Managers in the various areas of care provision. We see and use Case Managers in virtually every aspect of the health care system. We see them in Acute Care Hospitals, Long term care facilities, home health services, physician offices as well as Rehab facilities. They can be found in clinics, managed care organizations (health insurance companies) and even on the internet. My entire web site and business is based on a community based case management model. In this sense, I can function as your case manager.

The Case Managers are the ones who act as a central point of care coordination along with your physician. In cases where your primary physician cannot or does not act as a central coordination the Case Manager can assist in this manner. The basis of Case Management is to “manage” the case/care…your case. This does not mean we provide hands-on-care for your illnesses…your doctor should do that. We can assist you in pulling the different pieces of the healthcare puzzle together. This helps eliminate gaps in care, duplication in care by more than one physician and to help you understand your conditions to better self-manage. This is usually a Case Manager’s goal with you…to assist you to become more independent with your care and that includes providing education and resources. There are times when you may need the services of a case manager for a prolonged or extended amount of time.

My services at EZHealthCare include that of Community Based Case Management. If you would like to know more about how I can help YOU, please contact me at alice@EZHealthCareOnline.com or check my web site: www.EZHealthCareOnline.com

Maintain Care Information Flow

Let's talk about coordination of care. In the last post, I mentioned how your primary care physician (PCP) is the one who serves as the central point of coordination for your care. He/she should have any information from specialist visits and from any testing that may have been ordered by another doctor. You have a role in maintaining this flow of information. One opportunity for this occurs when you have a test such as a CT scan or a x-ray ordered by another physician. The ordering physician is the one who will receive the report findings of the test. At the time you are providing your history and giving consent for the ordered procedure, there will be a place on the forms asking if the test results should be sent to any other physicians. This is your opportunity and responsibility to facilitate the flow of information to your PCP. Always add your PCP to this list of recipients assuring that not only the specialist will get the results but also to your central point of coordination. By doing this consistently, your doctor has the ability and information to adequately identify any patterns that may need to be addressed.

Your consciousness of this is more important now than ever in the past. Most insurance plans today do not require a referral from a PCP for a specialist visit. All you need to do is make an appointment. If the specialist does not include your PCP with the findings of the examination and any tests, your PCP may never know of the specialist visit. There will be a gap in information and potentially in care. Ask the specialist to send a copy of the assessment and findings to your PCP. You may want to ask for a copy also. The days of the patient not being knowledgeable of the doctor's records are gone. You can then make sure your PCP does indeed have copies of your information.

Another area that needs your action to assure information flow is with your preventive care tests. An example is a mammogram. There is often no need for a physician referral for a yearly screening mammogram. If you do not identify the physicians to receive a report, your PCP may never know you had it done. Consider this aspect of your coordination of care any time you have a health care experience. You can always check with alice@ezhealthcareonline.com if you need assistance with any aspect of care flow.