Incorporating Patient-Centeredness Into Case Management Practice: Concepts, Interventions, and Measurement

Patient-centeredness is a cornerstone of case management practice. Professional case managers must conduct a clinical assessment to develop a care plan that addresses the clinical issues as well as the patient's needs, preferences, values, and choices. To achieve patient-centeredness, the case manager must engage with the patient in order to build a relationship that supports the patient-identified goals and addresses gaps in care. This article provides information on key terms in patient-centeredness, such as patient satisfaction, patient experience, and patient empowerment. The article ends with two case examples to show how the interventions outlined can be applied in specific situations.

Patient-centeredness applies to all settings and levels of care.

The case manager will learn about successful organizational strategies that can be deployed to support patient-centeredness. The article also identifies several key case-specific strategies that can be deployed when case managers work with patients. The metrics used in evaluating and improving patient-centeredness are also described.