Care coordination. A new role in a customer-focused healthcare system

In the current healthcare environment, all healthcare providers are challenged to provide quality patient care in an efficient, cost-effective manner. Managed care organizations and third-party payors actively collect data related to cost, length of stay, resource use, and patient outcomes for use in affiliating and contracting with healthcare facilities and providers. The authors, in this article, outline one organization's evolution from a "utilization review"-based discharge planning process to a proactive "utilization management" approach to care coordination.