Synopsis
This selection of published articles and case studies provides an in—depth look at case management issues. Essential Readings in Case Management covers a wide—reaching array of topics, including administrative and financial considerations, quality improvement, telephonic nursing, population—based case management, chronically ill patients in an HMO, ethical issues in worker's comp, new case manager's roles, and much more. A "Case in Profile" section provides 11 selected case studies, including neurobehavioral case management, returning brain—injured clients to work, issues for those with high—level spinal—cord injury, and trauma critical pathways.
Lynn Riippi
This is a book of selected readings on case management, intended to supplement The Case Manager's Handbook by the same author/editor. It is intended to provide a more in-depth discussion and information tool. It provides "real-life" stories and experiences. It is intended for students and practitioners, although I feel most of the articles are written at an advanced knowledge level. I looked for two key items in this book: that the articles chosen reflected the essential elements of the case management process, and that references were current. As in its companion, I found this book provided current selections (most were 1995-97) representing clinical, financial, data systems/analysis, and multidisciplinary teams. In my current position as case manager for a health plan, there is increasing demand to produce both clinical and financial outcomes. The chapter entitled "Activity Based Costing for Hospitals" provided a lesson for me in basic costing principles. It was clear, concise, and written in terms I could understand. I also enjoyed reading the articles contributed by Gloria Mayer, RN, President of Friendly Hills HealthCare Network and Cheryl Phillips-Harris, MD, from Sutter in California. I have had the pleasure of hearing both of these women present at national conferences and was impressed with the success of their programs. I do question whether people would buy a book that is a compilation of articles available in journals, but in times of decreased budgets for journals, the price seems reasonable. This is a good companion book for The Case Manager's Handbook.