2017 Healthcare Case Management Trends: More Care Team Integration, Face-to-Face Patient Encounters

Sea Girt, NJ, October 10, 2017 --(PR.com)-- As the practice of integrated case management takes hold, patients are much more likely to encounter a case manager in a provider's office this year than they would have four years ago. Two-thirds of 2017 respondents embed or colocate case managers alongside care teams today, versus 54 percent in 2013, according to 2017 Case Management benchmarks from the Healthcare Intelligence Network.

In a parallel trend, most case manager-patient interactions take place in face-to-face settings, say 82 percent of respondents, up from 61 percent in 2013.

Healthcare case managers in 2017 have larger workloads, managing monthly averages of 50 to 99 cases, according to 41 percent. In 2013, only 28 percent of case managers carried a workload of that size; juggling up to 49 cases was more the norm, said 31 percent at that time.

What hasn't changed in four years is return on investment from case management, with ROI holding steady between 2:1 and 3:1 for 18 percent of respondents—in 2017 and back in 2013.

Case management rewards frequently exceed the financial, the survey found. Helping individuals identify and attain their health goals counts as one of the most fulfilling events in a case manager's career, according to 2017 respondents.

"Seeing a patient's face when I was able to successfully acquire their medications for them at no cost," was one recent highlight, shared one. "It was a look of astonishment and disbelief. (The patient) was brought to tears."

Download more metrics from the complimentary HINtelligence report, "Case Management in 2017: More Care Team Integration; Face-to-Face CM Encounters Edge Out Telephonic," at http://www.hin.com/library/registercasemanagement2017.html

News Facts: HIN's white paper, "Case Management in 2017: More Care Team Integration; Face-to-Face CM Encounters Edge Out Telephonic," summarizes August 2017 feedback from 78 hospitals and health systems, health plans, physician-hospital organizations, and others on their case management interventions.

This 2017 case management snapshot also captured the following trends:

- Cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and diabetes are the top clinical targets of healthcare case managers;

- Provider referrals and case management assessments are the top means of identifying and stratifying individuals for case management;

- Embedded or colocated case managers are most often integrated within primary care practices and hospital emergency rooms;

- Care transition management is the top responsibility of case managers, say 88 percent of respondents;

- Seventy-seven percent believe that the cost of implementing patient-facing technologies such as wearables in case management can be recouped through improved patient outcomes; and

- Eighty-five percent attribute improved patient satisfaction levels to case management efforts.

Download more metrics from the complimentary HINtelligence report, "Case Management in 2017: More Care Team Integration; Face-to-Face CM Encounters Edge Out Telephonic," at http://www.hin.com/library/registercasemanagement2017.html.

View an infographic summarizing 2017 Healthcare Case Management trends at http://hin.com/blog/2017/09/06/hinfographic-case-management-trends-face-to-face-patient-encounters-edge-out-telephonic/

Quote Attributable to Melanie Matthews, HIN Executive VP and COO:

"Whether in the physician practice or via telephonic outreach, case managers have been a boon to care coordination, assessing and engaging patients and reducing unnecessary utilization. However, we cannot overlook the merits of the human connection they forge, as evidenced by the high number of case managers who expressed fulfillment at seeing patients attain their goals."

For Melanie Matthews's profile, please visit http://www.hin.com/bios.html#mm

Please contact Patricia Donovan to arrange an interview or to obtain additional quotes.

About the Healthcare Intelligence Network — HIN is the premier advisory service for executives seeking high-quality strategic information on the business of healthcare. For more information, contact the Healthcare Intelligence Network, PO Box 1442, Wall Township, NJ 07719-1442, (888) 446-3530, fax (732) 449-4463, e-mail info@hin.com, or visit http://www.hin.com.