Lippincott's case management : managing the process of patient care最新文献

Progressive and debilitating heart failure (HF) affects almost 5 million, mostly elderly, individuals in the United States. As the elderly population grows in coming decades, the prevalence of HF is expected to increase substantially. In addition to its human toll, HF yields a substantial economic burden, with direct and indirect cost estimates ranging from $27 to $56 billion annually. It is associated with an unacceptably high rehospitalization rate--50% within 6 months--which not only drives burgeoning costs but also provides a signal that current management approaches to HF are less than optimal. Evidence-based treatment approaches, which include the use of beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, spironolactone, and nesiritide, may offer opportunities for reducing mortality and rehospitalization rates in HF. Yet, because of inadequate discharge guidance and follow-up, many patients with HF are caught in a "revolving door" process that ultimately culminates in exacerbation and rehospitalization. Hospital-based disease management programs have consistently been shown to optimize care and reduce rehospitalization rates in patients with HF. The Hackensack University Medical Center HF program is discussed as an example of a successful HF program. This program represents a multidisciplinary, multifaceted approach to care that emphasizes case management. The core goal of this program is to provide a continuum of care that extends through hospitalization and into the patients' home environment.

This two-part article explores the process of role transition as it pertains to nurses moving from roles of caregivers to roles of case managers. Part 1 of the article presents a theoretical model that demonstrates the interplay of significant factors in the process of role transition and discusses how this model can be used to examine nurses experience of this transition. Part 2 presents findings from a qualitative study involving interview and focus group data contributed by nurses who have made the transition from caregiver to case manager. Data point to specific tensions experienced by these nurses, which are associated with time-task orientation, interactions and relationships, business culture and objectives, and self-image and professional identity. Recommendations for preparing and supporting nurses through this role are also offered.

This article provides an overview of nursing case management as an advanced practice role from a theoretical and practice basis. Not all case managers will, or need to, perform case management duties at the advanced level. However, it has become abundantly clear over the past several years that nurse case managers are performing more complex duties that appear to match the competencies of other advanced practice roles. In this article, the authors will explore the issue in depth and demonstrate the differences between basic and advanced practice nursing case management on the basis of clinical practice, educational level, and research responsibilities for both the basic and advanced levels of case management practice; advanced practice competencies; and examples of advanced practice case management from current practice. Just as there are differences between basic and advanced professional and clinical nursing practice, there is a difference between basic and advanced levels of case management practice.

Heart failure is one of the most common diagnoses of the elderly in the United States. The nursing literature has demonstrated that nursing interventions aimed at effective discharge planning and appropriate self-care activities can improve outcomes for patients hospitalized with heart failure. The purpose of this research was to identify, through retrospective medical record review, the discharge instruction related to self-weight monitoring provided to a sample of heart failure patients. The patients in the sample were 65 years and older with an ICD-9 diagnostic code of heart failure upon discharge from an acute care hospital in the Midwest. Results demonstrated the lack of nursing attentiveness to teaching self-monitoring weight gain to heart failure patients while hospitalized and the need for more comprehensive planning for appropriate discharge referrals. Suggestions are made for expanding documentation tools to improve nursing discharge planning and case management to ensure that the patient or caregiver is able to carry out self-care activities at home.