| | The case report: a newsletter from the case management society of america: the president's message
President's Letter
Member Benefits
National Awards Program
Board of Directors Meeting
CCMA® Expert Panel Meeting
Standards of Practice
Conference Highlights
Chapter Calendar
Board and Chapter Listing
Completed ballots must be postmarked by March 7, 2003. In late January 2003, ballots were mailed to all CMSA members (with active membership as of 12/31/02) to elect the 2003-2004 CMSA Board of Directors. Completed ballots must be postmarked by March 7, 2003, in order to be counted. Please complete and return your ballot to make sure your voice is heard! If you have any questions or need a ballot, please contact Randall Van Den Berghe at (501) 225-2229, ext. 29, or randall@acminet.com.
I hope everyone had a joyous holiday season! It's hard to believe that it's already 2003. The past year has been extremely busy, but as a result of all that work, the “final version” is in—the new CMSA Standards of Practice for Case Management© is here! If you're a CMSA member, you receive a free copy. If not, copies can be purchased with the order form on the third page of this section, the CMSA website (www.cmsa.org/secure/products), or by calling the national office.
The CMSA board assigned the Standards of Practice Update Task Force and its co-chairs with management of a year-long process of extensive review and revision of the standards. The two co-chairs, Gerri Lamb, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Kathleen Moreo, RN, Cm, BSN, BHSA, CCM, CDMS, CEAC, have done an incredible job of spearheading this project. They've managed this time-consuming process and kept the task force on target within the outlined time frame.
The process included reviewing, drafting, and approving by the task force; reviewing, commenting, and incorporating of input by the Reference Group; distributing to the CMSA board of directors; legal revising prior to posting for the public comment period; presenting at the CMSA Conference by the task force co-chairs and receiving final public comments, which were carefully considered. Appropriate provisions then were incorporated into the new version of the Standards. This version was forwarded to our special legal counsel for guidance and recommendations, and additional changes were made. Following legal review and revision, the revised draft was returned to the task force for approval prior to coming back to the board of directors for final approval for content and publication. All edits to the Standards were tracked and sourced in the CMSA files. The final version incorporated all substantive content and edits from each review.
Of particular note is the change in the definition of case management. In accordance with legal counsel recommendation, the definition was changed from the former one, which read: “Case management is a collaborative process which assesses, plans, implements, coordinates, monitors, and evaluates options and services to meet an individual's health needs through communication and available resources to promote quality cost-effective outcomes,” to the following: “Case management is a collaborative process of assessment, planning, facilitation, and advocacy for options and services to meet an individual's health needs through communication and available resources to promote quality cost-effective outcomes.”
The changes support consistency between the definition and the Standards of Care. Consistency was felt to be critical to the integrity of the new document. Many thanks go to Gerri and Kathleen, to each of the task force and Reference Group members, and to each of you, our members, who reviewed the draft Standards and sent in your comments. The Standards are vital to the practice of case management, and while review is a grueling process, it is so important that the Standards be kept up to date and that they reflect current practice.
CMSA's Council for Case Management Accountability® (CCMA) has published the second State of the Science Paper titled Involvement/Participation, Empowerment and Knowledge: Outcome Indicators of Case Management, authored by Carrie Jo Braden, PhD, RN, FAAN, and edited by Gerri Lamb and Mary Koithan, PhD, RN. It also can be ordered on the CMSA website.
Sherry Aliotta, RN, BSN, CCM, has chaired CCMA for a number of years and has made great strides in bringing the State of the Science Paper projects to completion. An expert panel led by Sherry was convened in Little Rock following the CMSA board of directors meeting in October. The purpose was to take the information in the State of the Science Papers and translate it into meaningful outcome measures that day-to-day case managers can use in their practice settings to demonstrate the value of case management.
I hope this coming year is a great one for each of you. As one of your New Year's resolutions, why not commit to find one way to promote case management and CMSA (and be sure and keep this one!). As my presidential theme says, Find a way to get involved!
Big agenda addressed in little rock at october CMSA board of directors meeting  So much to do … so little time! The CMSA National Board of Directors made good use of the short time together October 25-26, 2002, at their meeting in Little Rock, Ark. With 12 of the 13 directors attending, the event began with a clean report on the 2002 audit from Patricia Weed, CPA, of Thomas and Thomas, CMSA's auditing firm. Weed concluded with advice on being proactive in an uncertain economy. President Karen Chambers encouraged the board to develop a consensus on where it wants CMSA to go and to help it reach those goals. Executive Director Jeanne Boling said that the publication Case Management Trends: An Overview of Recent Industry and Regulatory Developments was produced in collaboration with URAC and is available at www.cmsa.org/secure/products. She reported that 17 national organizations had joined CMSA in support of 2002's National Case Management Week and listed expectations for December 2002's Visioneering meeting and the Physicians' Summit scheduled for early 2003. Results of Friday's meeting also included:
•B.K. Kizziar (member DFW Chapter) was appointed CMOY/AOSE Committee Chair.
•Pat Orchard led a discussion on fostering a relationship with Australia's case management representatives. The board agreed that legal advice should be solicited regarding sending a general letter of support.
•Joan Bowman outlined goals of the CPC forum and discussed plans to orient new leaders and begin a mentoring program for chapter leadership. Following that, the Electronic Vote Ballots and the Consent Agenda were accepted.
•The 2004 conference site was discussed. Site suggestions included Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, Nashville, and New Orleans. It was reported that research from past conferences has shown that attendees rank educational content first, amount of CEUs second, and location third when deciding to attend a conference.
•The 2002 revised Standards of Practice for Case Management© were discussed and approved. CMSA was directed to distribute the new SOP booklet to all its members upon publication.
•In a conference call, Richard Goldberg, Esq., outlined legal issues surrounding the Standards of Practice. He said that, legally, participants in the revision process cannot represent themselves as being authorized representatives of CMSA or as having any “special knowledge” about the Standards.
After Friday's meeting adjourned, directors were given a tour of CMSA's national headquarters, which included presentations by various departments and a preview of the newly redesigned website to be introduced in mid-December. Saturday's half-day meeting saw a vote on the 2004 conference site, directing CMSA staff to pursue continuing the three-year contract with Gaylord Properties. Discussion topics included the CCMA Expert Panel meeting, ranking of several public relations priorities, and evaluation of CMI. Industry Council Proposal planning included appointing Sandra Lowery (National Past Pres.) as the task force chair. During a Nomination Committee discussion led by Catherine Mullahy, new wording was agreed upon regarding “relevant experience” under requirements. At the meeting's conclusion, Karen Chambers remarked, “I felt we had an extremely productive meeting. We are moving multiple projects forward, and I feel this is due to the dedicated work of the CMSA board of directors, staff, and committee members.” The board of directors will hold their next meeting June 23 at the 13th Annual CMSA Conference & Expo in San Antonio. CCMA expert panel discusses consistent outcome indicators The Council for Case Management Accountability (CCMA)® convened the first meeting of the Expert Panel on October 27, 2002. The Expert Panel represents a major step forward in the goal of developing consistent indicators for demonstrating the direct outcomes of case management. CMSA board members and staff included on the panel were:
•Sherry Aliotta, RN, BSN, CCM Chairperson, CCMA, Director, CMSA
•Jeanne Boling, MSN, CRRN, CDMS, CCM Executive Director, CMSA
•Karen Chambers, RN, CCM, CDMS President, CMSA
•Catherine Mullahy, RN, BS, CRRN, CCM Immediate Past President, CMSA
•Lisa Wilder, CPA, CCMA, Staff Liaison/CMSA
Other Expert Panel members present were:
•Denise Fessler, MSN, RN, CMAC Manager, Case Management & Special Programs, Capital BlueCross
•Merry McBryde-Foster, PhD, RN, CCM Assistant Professor, Louise Herrington School of Nursing
•Michael B. Garrett, MS, CCM Vice President, State & Private Programs Qualis Health
•Rufus Howe, RN-C Director, Design & Development, American Healthways
There are four key phases to the CCMA project. These are establishing the framework for accountability, completing the State of the Science Papers, developing the indicators by the expert panel, and disseminating the indicators. The purpose of this initial panel meeting was to focus on the findings of the three State of the Science Papers and establish the context and strategy for indicator development. The panel identified several key factors that must be incorporated into the development process. Existing tools and indicators do not measure the outcomes of interest to case management. Although many tools are related and have similar concepts, they are usually directed at only one aspect of the outcomes we are looking to demonstrate. Any measurement plan would require a measure prior to and following case management intervention. Obviously, determining the most appropriate time to measure the outcome will require careful consideration. While measuring the outcome of each process is the goal for the indicators, we recognize that case management also needs a certain level of process measurement. Without documentation and measurement of key aspects of the process, we may not be able to effectively evaluate needed changes or replicate successes. The panel determined that the measures must be consistent with the Standards of Practice for Case Management© and reflect the lessons learned in the State of the Science Papers. This approach will promote a foundation for the indicators that will be supported by research and current guidelines for practice. In order to achieve this balance, the indicators will require measures of multiple aspects of the case management process and multiple stakeholders. The panel agreed that outcome indicators should be centered on the client but must consider the other team members. This team includes the payer, the physician, and even the case manager. Although the panel strives to broaden the scope and perception of case management value and effectiveness, we recognize that the measures must clearly correlate to return on investment. The first and second state of the science papers are available for purchase, along with other resources and products, at www.cmsa.org/secure/products Since the demand is for indicators that allow comparison and benchmarking, indicators must transcend practice setting and be usable by all case management practitioners. It is essential that the requirements for collection of the data, definition of terms, and other reporting elements be very well defined. Without this clearly established process, we cannot be sure that the measures will be the same from organization to organization. The first meeting established that the process for developing universal indicators for case management practice is a complex, multi-dimensional process. However, the panel was encouraged by the progress and insights we were able to obtain in our time together. This progress and our enthusiasm led the panel to establish some aggressive timelines for completing this extremely important work. The panel plans to have some draft indicators available for wider review by early summer 2003. For more information on the process of the Expert Panel, members can contact the chairperson, Sherry L. Aliotta, via the CMSA website. In addition, the first and second State of the Science Papers are available for purchase at www.cmsa.org/secure/products. The final State of the Science Paper is planned for release by spring 2003. PII: S1061-9259(02)03721-9 doi:10.1067/mcm.2003.21 © 2003 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved. | |
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