Certified Case Manager

Overview

At Houston Methodist, the Case Manager (CM) Certified position is a registered nurse (RN) responsible for comprehensively planning for case management of a targeted patient population on a designated unit(s) and/or service line. This position works with the physicians and interprofessional healthcare team to facilitate and maintain compassionate, efficient quality care and achievement of desired treatment outcomes. The CM Certified position holds joint accountability with social workers for discharge planning and continuity of care and assures that admission and continued stay are medically necessary, communicating clinical information to payors to ensure reimbursement. In addition to performing the duties of a CM, this position helps drive change by identifying areas where performance improvement is needed, e.g., day-to-day workflow, education, process improvements, patient satisfaction.

Houston Methodist Standard

HOUSTON METHODIST EXPERIENCE EXPECTATIONS

• Provide personalized care and service by consistently demonstrating our I CARE values:
  • INTEGRITY: We are honest and ethical in all we say and do.
  • COMPASSION: We embrace the whole person including emotional, ethical, physical, and spiritual needs.
  • ACCOUNTABILITY: We hold ourselves accountable for all our actions.
  • RESPECT: We treat every individual as a person of worth, dignity, and value.
  • EXCELLENCE: We strive to be the best at what we do and a model for others to emulate.

• Practices the Caring and Serving Model

• Delivers personalized service using HM Service Standards

• Provides for exceptional patient/customer experiences by following our Standards of Practice of always using Positive Language (AIDET, Managing Up, Key Words)

• Intentionally collaborates with other healthcare professionals involved in patients/customers or employees' experiential journeys to ensure strong communication, ease of access to information, and a seamless experience

• Involves patients (customers) in shift/handoff reports by enabling their participation in their plan of care as applicable to the given job

• Actively supports the organization's vision, fulfills the mission and abides by the I CARE values

Responsibilities

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Collaborates with the physician and all members of the interprofessional healthcare team to facilitate care for designated assignment; monitors the patient's progress, intervening as needed to ensure that the plan of care and services provided are patient-focused, high quality, efficient, and cost-effective.

• Serves as a preceptor and implements staff education specific to patient populations and unit processes; coaches and mentors other staff and students. Serves a resource for department and hospital. Provides education to physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers on case management topics.

• Initiates contributions towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e. peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Performs review for medical necessity of admission, continued stay and resource use, appropriate level of care and program compliance. Identifies when services no longer meet InterQual/Milliman l criteria, initiates discussion with attending physicians, coordinates with the external case manager to facilitate discharge planning, seeks assistance from the physician advisor, if needed, and informs management of the possible need for issuing Medicare Hospital Initiated Notice of Non-coverage.

• Applies approved utilization criteria to monitor appropriateness of admissions, level of care, resource utilization, and continued stay. Reviews level of care denials to identify trends and collaborate with team to recommend opportunities for process improvement.

• Plans for routine/difficult discharge and anticipates/prevents and manages emergent situations. Facilitates timely: - Assessment and intervention to prevent or reduce readmission - completion of treatment plan and discharge plan - modification of plan of care, as necessary, to meet the ongoing needs of the patient - assignment of appropriate levels of care - completion of all required documentation in designated EMR and applications or programs - elimination of discharge barriers

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Documents assessment and interventions efficiently and effectively. Proactively takes action to achieve continuous improvement and expedite care/facilitate discharge.

• Performs post-discharge review by analyzing the inpatient record to ensure that compliance with quality