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.
By documenting health disparities across the country, the Commonwealth Fund scorecard highlights how CCMs can better support clients
"Profound racial and ethnic disparities in health and well-being have long been the norm in the United States." That line opens the Commonwealth Fund's most recent health equity scorecard, titled "Achieving Racial and Ethnic Equity in U.S. Health Care: A Scorecard of State Performance." Researchers found that health care systems continue to fail many people of color in every state. Even in states with high-performing health systems, people of color often receive much worse health care than white people.
Although the details of the report are revelatory, the thesis comes as no surprise to most case managers, says MaryBeth Kurland, MPA, CAE, ICE-CCP, chief executive officer, Commission for Case Manager Certification. "This is one of the many reasons we embrace diversity. The Commission values diversity among its case manager and disability management specialists because having a diverse workforce helps broaden our reach."
From illness and disability to optimal health: In different ways, CCMs and CDMSs help pave the path to healing
Certified case managers and certified disability management specialists use their skills and expertise to help clients return to optimal health and productivity. Each has a role.
“Case managers and disability management specialists may approach client care a bit differently and use tools specific to their particular professions, yet they both have the ultimate goal of assuring clients get to the best outcomes,” explains Vivian Campagna, DNP, RN-BC, CCM, ICE-CCP, Chief Industry Relations Officer, Commission for Case Manager Certification.
Burnout care: Where's your care plan? It's time to heal ourselves-and each other
Burnout has taken an immeasurable toll on health care workers. Already an area of concern before the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout has now become a pandemic itself. We can’t wipe away the harm, but we can find ways to cope. And cope we must, because although COVID may be abating, burnout is not.
A 2021 survey from Indeed found that employee burnout is on the rise: 52% of all workers are feeling burned out, which represents a 10% increase from a pre-COVID survey1. Meanwhile, according to the CDC, rates of anxiety and depression among U.S. adults were about four times higher between April 2020 and August 2021 than in 2019.
Healthy People 2030: A tool to improve the health of clients
The Healthy People initiative, established in 1979, “identifies public health priorities to help individuals, organizations and communities across the United States improve health and well-being.” Since the inception, at the beginning of every decade, a new iteration of the initiative is launched to address the latest public health priorities and challenges along with measurable objectives and tools to track progress over the next 10 years. Healthy People is administered by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the Department of Health and Human Services. The fifth iteration, Healthy People 2030, seeks to identify nationwide health improvement priorities and increase public awareness and understanding of the determinants of health, disease and disability and the opportunities for progress.
Long COVID and the workplace: Case managers and disability management specialists must prepare to support clients and educate employers
Only recently have we begun to grasp the impact of long COVID on the workplace. Despite knowing about COVID-19 and its symptoms, most health care professionals don’t completely understand what has come to be called “long COVID.” Case managers and disability management specialists need to learn as much as they can, says Patricia Nunez, MA, CRC, CDMS, CCM, secretary, Commission for Case Manager Certification. “As many as 30% of those who get COVID-19 have lingering symptoms, some debilitating.” The medical term for long COVID illness is post-acute sequelae of COVID19 (PASC). PASC includes persistent or new symptoms that develop at least four to eight weeks after the initial infection with COVID-19. For some people, these symptoms persist for a year or more. Estimates vary widely: About 10% to 30% of COVID-19 survivors develop PASC.