It’s time the public understood case management, experts say
Professional development
It’s time the public understood case management, experts say
Here’s how and why you need to build your public image
You are the health care industry’s best-kept secret. After nearly two decades of improved patient outcomes and advocacy, most Americans and even some physicians don’t know what case management is, say public relations and case management professionals interviewed by Case Management Advisor.
Perhaps even more disturbing, recent reports in consumer magazines, newspapers, and national television news broadcasts have misrepresented the role of the case manager to your patients and customers. "We as case managers do an excellent job of advocating for our patients but have not done a good job advocating on behalf of ourselves," explains Kathleen Moreo, RN, BSN, BPSHA, CDMS, ABDA, owner of PRIME, a case management consulting and education company in Miramar, FL. "Our professional future may be in jeopardy because we haven’t explained to consumers who we are and how we can help them receive appropriate health care. If we don’t step up to the plate and define ourselves, others will step in and do it for us."
"I recently saw a full-page ad in a physician management magazine for occupational therapists. In very few words, it explained how occupational therapists enhance the physician’s job and improve patient outcomes," comments Moreo, who is president-elect of the Case Manage - ment Society of America (CMSA) in Little Rock, AR. "It was touching and effective. It explained that occupational therapy makes a difference in patient’s lives. Why aren’t we as case managers out there publicizing the impact we have on patients’ lives?"
"Good public relations can create a demand for case management that will advance this profession and provide greater opportunities for case managers," says Nancy Skinner, RN, CCM, with IVonyx in Chattanooga, TN, and president of CMSA. "I want to see the day when patients diagnosed with a serious medical condition demand a case manager to help guide them through the health care system."
Define job, message
However, before case managers can bring their message to consumers, they must agree on a shared definition of case management and a common message. "We are entering the new millennium still plagued with internal conflicts in terminology when it comes to defining case management," says Moreo." If we don’t come forward with one voice and one definition of case management, our message will be ineffective."
"Case managers must agree on one very brief, very caring sentence that explains what they do. Then they need to follow that message with personal case management success stories that support that definition," says Brenna Harrington, a health care public relations consultant based in Lawrenceville, GA, with 15 years of experience. She suggests case managers coin a phrase that explains their role in the health care delivery system and use it repeatedly when speaking to consumers or media about case management. (For advice on how to talk to the press, see p. 19.)
Some phrases she suggests might be effective include these:
• "Case managers try to take better care of patients by . . . ."
• "Case managers make every effort to help patients lead fuller lives by . . . ."
• "Case managers help patients receive access to appropriate health care by . . . ."
Once you clarify your message, you must select and study your audience before launching a public relations effort. "I realized that I needed to reach potential clients with my message," notes Catherine Mullahy, RN, BS, CRRN, CCM, president of Options Unlimited, a case management company in Huntington, NY, and author of The Case Manager’s Handbook. "I asked my existing clients what publications they read and began to subscribe to those publications. I needed to understand what the perception of case management was, what those potential clients were interested in, and what problems they were trying to solve."
Mullahy hired a public relations firm to help her make contacts with the editors of business and health insurance journals. "I started writing articles for compensation management journals and other business publications. Once they were published, I asked for reprints and sent those to potential clients. It gave me more credibility."
Case managers also can "create" news of interest to publications that reach their patients or clients by suggesting a case management angle to topical issues, notes Deborah Jensen, president of An In-House Associate, a public relations and publicity firm in Huntington, NY. She offers these examples:
• legislation that affects patient care;
• a new drug for a chronic illness;
• a new or unique treatment or surgery;
• health care industry trends.
Speak to reporters
Jensen says case managers first should determine the appropriate editor, producer, or reporter, and then call or write with a story idea. For example, if it’s a seasonal story on helping children manage their asthma, approach the parenting editor at a women’s magazine or the health editor of your local newspaper. If it’s a story about Alzheimer’s disease, contact the health editor at magazines targeted to caregivers or the senior market.
"You might say, There’s an exciting new treatment for Alzheimer’s. I’m a case manager. I work with patients and their families to help them manage their medical conditions. Let me tell you the wonderful effect this treatment had on one of my patients,’" says Jensen. "Use a case of yours that came out exceptionally well to illustrate your point and make it come alive." However, she cautions that case managers should never identify a patient by name without first receiving written permission.
Don’t be discouraged if an editor or reporter rejects your story suggestion. "By establishing contact, you’ve created an opportunity," she says. That journalist may call you a month later and say, I didn’t use that idea, but I am planning an article next month on workers’ compensation, are you interested in commenting on that?’"
It’s also important to respond to articles that misrepresent case management, she suggests. "You can write a letter to the editor and then go one step further by suggesting a story idea on a related topic."
Letters to the editor work
Moreo recently wrote a letter to the editor after reading an article in The Wall Street Journal. "The article presented case managers as purse-string holders. I responded with a letter to the editor explaining CMSA’s definition of case management. The letter ran. I believe it helped promote CMSA’s philosophy of case management to anyone who read it."
The letter also created another educational opportunity, Moreo explains. "As a result of that letter, I received a very strongly worded letter from the vice president of a large workers’ comp insurer. He had misunderstood some of my comments and taken great exception to them. I called him and explained the role of case managers to him on a more personal level. We had a great conversation. He even sent me a letter apologizing for his first letter. That letter in The Wall Street Journal created an educational opportunity."
Case managers can also take advantage of local health fairs and other community events to create consumer awareness about case management. "Sponsor a table at your community health fair. Hand out health education brochures. Talk to the people who come to your table. Tell them what you do," suggests Jensen. "It’s up to every case manager and every case management department to establish a presence in the community. It’s the ammunition you bring when you approach your higher-ups. It gives you the ability to say, See how integral we are to our organization? We help you gain new members and build loyalty in existing members.’"
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