Issue Briefs
The role of the professional case manager is changing rapidly. Health reform has called upon the industry to ensure that care delivered is efficient, effective, high quality and low cost. Never in our history has the role and the function of the professional case manager been more important. The expectations of today’s case manager are evolving and the experts in policy, research and industry are talking with the Commission about changes affecting case management practice.
The Commission’s Issue Briefs are offered as part of the CMLearning Network®. Each publication covers topics that are timely and relevant to today’s professional case manager. If you would like a hard copy of an Issue Brief for your staff, or for use at a meeting, we can send you a limited amount at no charge. Simply make your request by filling out the form in the sidebar, and we'll be happy to send them to you.
The Issue Briefs displayed below are the most recent.
The Epidemic Inside the Pandemic: We're dying from despair. Case managers can help.
July 2020 —COVID-19 has laid bare the failings of American health care, public health and public policy. Without immediate and meaningful action, it will do the same thing to America’s fragile mental health system. As we move forward, case managers must fully understand just how much COVID-19 has affected mental health—theirs, their colleagues' and their clients'. This issue brief puts it in context, provides resources and gives tips on how to be an advocate during this difficult time.
Advocacy in the age of COVID-19: The ethical principles remain constant, but how do you apply them in this strange new world?
June 2020 —What does advocacy look like today? What are its ethical underpinnings? We all know that case managers who carry the CCM credential are ethically bound to advocate for their clients. This issue brief looks at advocacy through a COVID-19 lens touching on case examples, overall safety concerns and medication safety. “Always, in every instance, think about doing no harm.”— Nancy Freeborne, DrPH, MPH, PA-C, Chief Executive Officer, Freeborne Health Advising
Becoming aware: Six things every case manager needs to know about dementia
April 2020 —Are you dementia-aware? Are you sure?
Given that roughly 5.8 million Americans lived with Alzheimer’s and other dementia in 2019, we can readily assume it directly affected more than 12 million people. This issue brief highlights six things every case manager needs to know about dementia.
“We can’t stop, fix or change dementia, but we can manage it and have more positive interactions as we begin to understand what’s behind dementia symptoms.”—Laura Wayman, The Dementia Whisperer, author of A Loving Approach to Dementia Care
Rethinking poverty: An evidence-based approach to treatment
March 2020 —Science and data drive health care practice. At least, they usually do: Heart disease, cancers, depression—all have evidence-based standards of care. But one devastating condition affecting millions has no such standards: Poverty. Marcella Wilson, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Transition to Success™, set out to change this, and she did. Multiple external reviews show how her model led improvements in income, mental health status, food security and several other social determinants at little or no additional cost. Her journey has special resonance for case managers—especially those with the CCM® credential, who are ethically bound to serve as patient advocates. What Wilson learned offers insights as case managers work with clients suffering from poverty.
It’s all about the client: How augmented intelligence brings AI to bear on the case management process
January 2020 —“Technology, data and analytics have a very significant impact on the practice of case management, both how we’re using it in our daily work and how our clients are using it to manage their health. It's exciting to think about the possibilities that come with easier, faster access to the information that we need, to help clients live their healthiest lives.” — MaryBeth Kurland, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, CCMC.
This issue brief highlights: the difference between artificial intelligence, machine learning and augmented intelligence; aligning AI and the case management process; and how to become better consumers.