By Lindsey North, MS, RN-BC
Before joining Aidin, I spent years leading care coordination across ten acute care hospitals. I’ve seen firsthand how strong case management can protect margins, reduce length of stay, and build better outcomes—and I’ve also seen how often it’s overlooked.
I see the same story playing out in my work with dozens of health systems across the country today. Case management teams continue to produce high-value work under pressure, often without the tools or investments they need.
It’s time to change that. How? By unpacking why case management is one of the most impactful levers a hospital has.
The Margin Story: Case Managers Save Hospitals Real Money
Let’s start with what CFOs and system leaders care about most: the bottom line. Strong case management teams save hospitals real money. Period.
When you reduce avoidable days, you create capacity. That means more throughput, more revenue, and fewer denials. During my time as a case management leader, my teams used data and real-time tracking to identify delays in discharge. We structured discharge planning so that referrals went out early—not after the physician order, but days before. That’s how we got in front of delays and gave patients the best options.
We also brought skilled nursing facility (SNF) authorizations in-house—a big lift, but one that paid off. We started with all the authorizations we could process through Availity, trained the team, and embedded authorizations directly into the referral workflow. It took time for SNFs to buy in, but once they did, it eliminated what we call the “bed game.” By shifting that responsibility to the hospital, we regained control over discharge timing, improved communication, and accelerated patient transitions.
The Patient Angle
Here’s a false narrative that has become all too common: operational efficiency comes at the expense of patient experience. But that couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to the important work case managers do daily. In fact, they’re the ones making the system feel more human—even when it’s moving fast.
Case managers are usually the first to listen to the patient, provide an explanation, and plan on their behalf. They round on patients daily to discuss their discharge plans—asking, not telling. Do they feel heard? Do they understand what is coming next? Do they know their choices?
Optimizing the patient experience can even involve optics. For example, we had our case managers change their scrub colors so patients could recognize them more easily, differentiate them from the nurses, and better understand what they are there to help do. We even added remote discharge planning evaluations that could be done from home, giving staff greater flexibility and faster service for patients. In one pilot program I was involved in, more than half of our evaluations were completed by a remote team, meaning discharge planning could start earlier than before.
None of what case managers do day in and day out is about merely meeting satisfaction scores. It’s about giving patients the confidence that someone is coordinating their next step thoughtfully and prioritizing what’s best for them while listening to what they want.
Best Practices That Actually Work
How do hospitals take full advantage of their case management teams’ potential? A few strategies work consistently, regardless of the hospital’s size, geography, or system affiliation.
1. Put Case Management at the Decision-Making Table
Too often, case managers are looped in late or siloed under departments that may not understand their full scope. Case management is central to hospital operations—from throughput and readmissions to denials and patient safety. They need a voice in strategy, not just execution.
Adjust your approach based on your org chart. If your case management team reports to the CFO, prioritize building the financial case. If it’s the CNO, partner on workforce planning and care transitions. Tailor your approach to where decisions are made—and make sure case management is consistently represented there.
2. Prioritize Early Discharge and Standardize It
Discharge evaluations should be completed within 24 hours. This allows time to prepare referrals, educate families, and align with the PT, OT, and the rest of the care team. How? Case managers need early visibility into admissions and a clear, understandable workflow for prioritizing assessments.
Additionally, conducting interdisciplinary rounds—especially when patient-centered—will help keep everyone on the same page. When the patient hears the same plan from their doctor, therapist, and case manager, it builds trust with them and helps streamline the discharge process.
3. Use Data as a Tool for Collaboration, Not Just Tracking
When I led case management teams, we tracked everything—avoidable days, productive hours, response times, and denial reasons. But the goal wasn’t just reporting. It was accountability and partnership.
We shared quarterly data with high-utilizing SNFs. We used timestamps to pinpoint delays. When a referral stalled, we could see exactly where and why. That transparency turned finger-pointing into collaborative problem-solving.
Data also helped us advocate for technology improvements. We could show the time spent on manual processes, the gaps in communication, and how tools like Aidin create real improvement. Numbers help tell the story, which is especially impactful when building your case with executives who aren’t involved in case management’s day-to-day.
Create a Real Post-Acute System—Not Just a Referral List
One of the biggest shifts organizations can make is treating their post-acute care (PAC) network as a partnership—not just a directory.
Across the health system, my case management teams worked with hundreds of PAC providers. That’s a lot of variation in quality, responsiveness, and capacity. So we built a structure around it.
We assigned “quality badges” based on metrics like response time, outcomes, and timely collaboration. Staff could sort SNFs by badge level. Patients could see that, too. We tracked how often a provider accepted or delayed a patient. And we shared that data in quarterly meetings. It changed the conversation completely. Instead of “Why aren’t you sending us patients?” the conversation became “How can we improve to receive more referrals?”
We also stopped waiting for payers to approve every step. By building authorizations into the same platform as referrals, we got out of the endless loop. Now, everyone—the hospital, the SNF, the payer—could see where the referral stood, what was missing, and what needed to happen next.
That’s how you align incentives and build a real ecosystem—not just a list of options.
What Hospital Leaders Need to Know
If you want to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and boost patient satisfaction—all at once—invest in case management. But not just in headcount. Invest in leadership, technology, and influence.
- Make case management part of your strategic planning, not just daily operations.
- Give them the tools to manage referrals, authorizations, and communication in one place.
- Partner with your PAC providers and use data to hold everyone accountable — including your own teams.
- Stop asking case managers to “figure it out” with spreadsheets and phone calls. They’re already working miracles. Imagine what they could do with the right infrastructure and by leveraging technology to reduce their manual workflows and give them more face time with patients.
The Connective Tissue That Holds It All Together
Hospitals talk about value-based care, reducing length of stay, and improving patient flow—and then often overlook the very team that makes all of that possible.
Case managers are your system’s connective tissue. They’re the ones bridging gaps between departments, smoothing handoffs, resolving conflicts, and helping patients move forward with confidence.
If you want to create a healthier hospital—financially, operationally, and clinically—start by investing in your case managers. They’ve already proven their value. Now it’s time to give them the support they deserve.
Join us in Dallas, TX, June 24-27, 2025, as we celebrate 35 years of case management excellence and innovation at the premier CM education and networking event of the year, the 2025 CMSA Annual Conference & Expo. Early bird registration closes May 1st! Register today and save: https://cmsa.org/conference/
Bio: Lindsey North, MS, RN-BC, is the Senior Director of Client Experience at Aidin, a care management technology innovator. A nurse by training, Lindsey previously led hospital care coordination across ten acute care hospitals for BayCare Health System. She has over 15 years of experience in healthcare, spanning direct patient care, EMR implementation, and leadership development. Lindsey is a frequent speaker at national conferences and an advocate for elevating the role of case management in hospital strategy.