Part Four: Basics of Case Management, Five-Part Series-Basics of Case Management Series, Part 4 Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Toni Sesta, co-founder of Case Management Concepts, LLC, addressed care coordination, deemed the "forgotten role" in case management in healthcare, recognizing its crucial importance despite being overshadowed by utilization management and discharge planning. Her session explored how effective care coordination, which involves organizing patient activities and ensuring information sharing among healthcare team members, not only enhances patient safety and quality of care but also manages hospital length of stay and costs.<br /><br />Dr. Sesta emphasized that with the national average hospital stay at about 4.6 days, the primary challenge is further reducing this length without compromising care. She identified several factors impacting actual length of stay: care coordination systems, physician practice patterns, availability of resources (particularly on weekends), and timely execution of procedures and tests. Additionally, she highlighted the importance of tracking avoidable delays to improve operational efficiencies.<br /><br />Dr. Sesta underscored integrating family caregivers into the care team as they play pivotal roles in maintaining patient wellness post-discharge, thus impacting readmission rates. She advocated for robust interdisciplinary communication, daily reassessment of patient progress, and proactive discharge planning. Finally, Dr. Sesta illuminated how non-procedural timeouts and improved patient handoffs could reduce delays and enhance patient experiences, ultimately optimizing healthcare outcomes and efficiencies.

Keywords

care coordination

case management

healthcare

patient safety

quality of care

hospital length of stay

cost management

physician practice patterns

resource availability

avoidable delays

family caregivers

interdisciplinary communication

discharge planning

patient handoffs

healthcare outcomes