End-of-life cases are among the most delicate and difficult for your case managers.
Make end-of-life cases easier with . . .
End-of-Life Care: Case Studies and Cost Efficiencies to Help Case Managers Determine Appropriate Levels of Care.
End-of-Life Care is designed to show you, step-by-step, how to tackle the clinical, financial, regulatory, contractual and social barriers to transitioning an end-of-life patient to the next appropriate level of care.
End-of-Life Care offers key resources and field-tested strategies
Moving end-of-life patients to the next appropriate level of care poses a huge challenge for case managers. Often, the biggest obstacle is trying to coordinate and communicate appropriate care goals with the clinicians, the patient and the patient's family—goals that will have a profound effect on your facility's bottom line.
Your case managers will learn how to get physician and family buy-in to move end-of-life patients more efficiently to the next appropriate level of care and how to manage that care effectively.
The financial implications . . .
When a patient's care is handled inappropriately, it can result in expensive, longer-than-necessary lengths of stay. And the financial implications are bad news for your organization.
End-of-Life Care shows you how to maximize your resources and discover major cost efficiencies for your facility. You'll find out how your hospital can capitalize on the Medicare consultation rule—Section 512 of the Medicare reform law.
A "must-have" resource for your:
- Director of case management
- Director of utilization review
- VP of nursing/director of nursing
- Director of social work/discharge planning
- Case managers
- VP (or) director of patient services/financial services
Inside End-of-Life Care you will find:
- Case studies
We'll discuss the clinical, financial, regulatory, contractual and social barriers case managers encounter with end-of-life patients and give you concrete solutions to help you overcome these barriers - How to gain the physician's support for moving the patient to the next appropriate level of care
Use the sample conversations as a guide to help you set and communicate care goals with the patient's clinical staff. - How to obtain the family's support for moving the patient to the next level of care
You'll get the tools and resources you need to help families overcome their perception that the hospital is "giving up" when a more appropriate level of care is identified—including sample conversations. - Reimbursement/Medicare
The experts help you better understand reimbursement issues involving terminally ill patients and uncover new and under-utilized Medicare benefits that can benefit your facility's bottom line. - Why a hospice may not take a patient
We'll tell you what issues you need to consider so you can seek alternative options when necessary. We'll also give you the "Does My Patient Qualify for Hospice?" checklist which lists all the qualifying diagnoses. - The "real" truth about end-of-life care, in settings such as palliative, hospice, and skilled nursing facilities
You'll be able to explain the realities about this care to physicians, patients and their families and dispel uncomforting myths. Plus, we'll clarify the often-misunderstood four levels of hospice care. - End-of-life care resources
There's an entire chapter devoted to resources for end-of-life cases, including associations, Web sites, and contact information no case manager should be without.
Apply the cost-efficiency recommendations presented in End-of-Life Care to every step of the case management process without diminishing the quality of care. You'll be able to:
- Decrease length of stay when possible
- Prevent readmissions to the hospital
- Prevent emergency room use
- Discharge patients to appropriate post-acute levels of care
This program is pending prior approval by the Commission for Case Manager Certification for 6 Continuing Education Units.
About the Authors:
Jackie Birmingham, RN, MS, CMAC, vice president of professional services, CuraSpan, Inc. Jackie has over 20 years of experience in discharge planning and case management, and is a noted author and speaker. During this period Jackie advocated for the need to address care issues across the continuum while serving on a task force for the JCAHO. She also worked with the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) during the development of the guidelines for the implementation of the Social Security Act's section on discharge planning. Jackie is a past president of American Association for Continuity of Care, and was the year 2000 recipient of the Distinguished Case Manager of the Year for the Case Management Society of America (CMSA).
Pat Agius, RN, BS, A-CCC, CCM, CPHQ, is a consultant and advises on a variety of healthcare issues, including case management, hospice policies and procedures, new hospice programs, and hospices in transition. Prior to her career as a consultant, Pat was the director of performance improvient and interim director of operations at Saint Barnabas Hospice & Palliative Care Center in New Jersey.
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