Case management: an ethically responsible solution

How can we meet the many ethical challenges we face every day in our practice settings? When health care values and services were strong, no one questioned the motivation behind a referral or lack of a referral. Financial decisions and knowledge of health care costs were left to accountants and the bookkeeping departments in hospitals. When payers ran out of dollars to support the growing numbers of ill people, money managers moved in. The challenge we face now is to strike a balance between acceptable levels of profit and socially responsible care. Ethical case management (CM) is an important part of the solution.