Part Four: Case Management Boot Camp 2026: Fundamentals for Everyday Practice (PT4W6013)-Case Management Boot Camp 2026, Part Four Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Tony Sesta, a longtime case management leader and consultant, led Part 4 of the series focused on care coordination in acute care settings. She described care coordination as the “forgotten” case management role because it is often overshadowed by time-sensitive utilization management and discharge planning, yet it is central to effective patient care.<br /><br />She defined care coordination as organizing patient care activities, sharing information among the interdisciplinary team, and ensuring the patient gets the right care at the right time. Sesta emphasized that good care coordination improves outcomes, reduces operational costs, increases staff productivity, and supports overall healthcare performance. She linked it closely to length of stay, resource management, and value-based purchasing.<br /><br />A major focus was patient flow, especially in the emergency department, where delays can increase mortality, adverse events, and length of stay. She also discussed throughput across departments such as radiology, lab, pharmacy, environmental services, transport, and perioperative services, stressing that delays in these areas affect both quality and cost.<br /><br />Sesta highlighted the importance of tracking avoidable delays, identifying whether they are caused by internal systems, patients, families, providers, or payers, and using that data for performance improvement. She also stressed the role of family caregivers as essential partners in care transitions.<br /><br />The session concluded with a Q&A about handling inpatient versus observation status in the ED, where Sesta advised using physician judgment and the two-midnight rule appropriately rather than defaulting to observation for most patients.

Keywords

care coordination

case management

acute care

patient flow

utilization management

discharge planning

interdisciplinary team

length of stay

resource management

value-based purchasing

emergency department

throughput

avoidable delays

care transitions

two-midnight rule