In this retrospective cohort study of 1,015 women at one institution, there was no association between type of contraceptive prescribed immediately postpartum and attendance at the postpartum visit.
In this quality improvement initiative study, patients undergoing scheduled gynecologic abdominal surgery via both minimally invasive and open routes were able to be discharged safely without a prescription of opioids without significant increases in postoperative calls about pain or the need for filling opioid prescriptions after discharge.
Occupational therapy is a bit like case management. In both vocations, the greater healthcare community (and population in general) is not entirely familiar with their purpose. Both positions often are all-encompassing, diverse, and necessary as they consider the whole person. Both occupational therapists and case managers often play a role in helping control hospital spending.
A hospital’s Care Transitions Clinical Coordinators program provides patients and caregivers with care transition support. The program focuses on assessment and identification of the root cause of readmission, as well as other key interventions.
Decision support technology can help case managers improve transitions of care and more easily access patient information necessary for an optimal discharge. The algorithm can collect data on patients’ functional status, cognition, caregiver status, and other important characteristics.
Coordinating post-acute services for patients has been an ongoing challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic. One solution is for hospitals to form partnerships with local skilled nursing facilities. These partnerships can help hospitals find adequate care for complex patients. Hospital case managers and other staff can help the skilled nursing facility with difficult problem-solving and care coordination.
Some charts might indicate there was chest pain and an abnormal ECG, but the patient was discharged with no explanation. Plaintiffs can use this to make a case the emergency physician missed classic presentation of myocardial infarction. Counter this allegation with specific documentation outlined here.
As of this writing, there are reports about hospitals across the country that have reached or exceeded capacity. These hospitals have only one or two available critical care beds, and some have no open medical or surgical beds. It is clear the hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, and they are coming at rates that are outside the bounds of anyone’s experience. But as I listen, I have to wonder. Where is case management? Are these administrators using case management to its fullest? Is there a capacity management plan?
Vulnerable stroke patients often are transitioned home, which can create challenges and the continued need for case management or follow-up care. Researchers studied these transitions in a pragmatic trial to see if health systems would implement transitional care for certain stroke patients.
Case management is a relationship-based profession that benefits health systems, patients, colleagues, and case managers. Establishing strong relationships with representatives from the long-term care continuum, including skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation centers, memory care units, and assisted living and independent living communities, is important for case managers.
