Little Rock, AR — "Exploring Best Practices in Physician & Case Management Collaboration to Improve Patient Care" — The Consensus Paper of the 2003 Physician & Case Management Summit has been completed and is being disseminated to physicians and case managers nationwide. Written by Kathleen Moreo, RN, Cm, BSN, BHSA, CCM, CDMS, CEAC, with support from David Nash, MD, MBA, FACP, the paper was co-sponsored by the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) and Professional Resources in Management Education, Inc. (PRIME).

The paper was the result of the Physician Case Management Summit convened on April 4, 2003, attended by 20 medical directors and directors of case management from leading health care organizations across the nation. The panel's goal was to reach a consensus on effective physician and case management collaboration to improve patient care, including identifying barriers and solutions to achieve effective collaboration. Case studies exploring best practices in physician and case management collaboration were submitted and reviewed by the expert panel, which also reviewed intellectual and scientific data in preparation for facilitated dialogue. A framework to establish and improve collaboration between physicians and case managers was achieved and formed the basis for the paper.

"The Summit was significant because it centered on achieving improved patient care by creating synergy between two key stakeholders in the health care system - physicians and case managers," stated Moreo. "Research and evidence linking physician-case management collaboration to quality, cost-effective patient care is compelling, but fragmented. This Summit allowed stakeholders to seek solutions, and the Consensus Paper reflects the commendable investment of time and energy by the expert panel." Topics addressed in the eight-page paper include analysis of scientific data supporting and refuting positive outcomes from integrated care/case management programs; parallels in physician-case management collaboration established by accreditation bodies; embodiment of care/case management programs in public policy; and the barriers and facilitators to effective collaboration in the current health system.

The 11 case studies referenced in the paper and available on CMSA's website were presented by six physicians and five case managers from the expert panel. They include three studies representing acute/post-acute systems, two representing community health models, one representing a carve-out disease management model, four representing payer organizations, and one representing independent case management.

Made possible through an educational grant from Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., a biopharmanceutical company that provides innovative products and services designed to help enhance the lives of individuals with serious chronic illnesses, the paper is available for review along with each of the case studies.

Moreo is President of PRIME, Inc., a CME/CE accreditation company, and Past President of CMSA. She co-chaired the CMSA Standards of Practice for Case Management Revision 2001-2002 Task Force. Nash is currently Associate Dean and Director of the Office of Health Policy of Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University.
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