The evidence base for case management practice.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Professional Practice Analysis

Background:

• Case managers (CMs) originate from diverse professional backgrounds, leading to varied role performance.
• Understanding the specific activities and knowledge requirements for effective CM practice across different disciplines is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and compare case management activities and knowledge elements based on professional discipline.
• To analyze variations and similarities in CM roles across different work settings.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of data from a 2004 online field survey by the Commission for Case Manager Certification.
• Survey included 4,419 case managers rating the frequency and importance of 103 activities and 64 knowledge statements.

Main Results:

• Nursing and social work professions demonstrated similar patterns in their role activities and knowledge factors for CM practice.
• Work settings such as hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, health insurance and managed care organizations, and CM companies, workers' compensation agencies, and third-party administrators also exhibited similar patterns.
• Evidence suggests that CM programs can be developed aligning with organizational characteristics and the strengths of the nursing profession.

Conclusions:

• Case management practice shows convergence in activities and knowledge across certain professional disciplines and work settings.
• Findings support the development of tailored CM programs that leverage professional strengths and organizational contexts.
• Further research can refine understanding of CM role performance across a broader spectrum of professions and settings.