By Anne Llewellyn, RN-BC, MS, BHSA, CCM, CRRN
Editor-in-Chief of Case in Point Magazine and the Case Management Resource Guide

Last week I received an email from a colleague asking if I knew of any research articles that support the role of case management in the field of workers’ compensation. The person shared that they had a new head of claims, a physician, who was questioning the merit of case management in improving outcomes.

She and her director wished to present evidence-based information to demonstrate the value of the practice. I shared some of the articles that have run in Case In Point and then sent out a few emails to several colleagues asking them for their input. Within minutes, I had several articles that answered the question.

Most of the evidence-based articles came from PubMed, a repository for scholarly articles written on a variety of topics. PubMed is maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. To review the evidence click here.

If you look at the various articles supporting the practice of case management, you will see that many of the research focuses on the role and function studies conducted by the Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC), which was the first organization to develop a national certification to validate the expertise of professionals engaged in the practice of case management. Every five years, the Commission performs a survey of the practice to understand prevalent trends and advances.

It so happens that the Commission currently is conducting this survey. If you work as a case manager in any aspect, I urge you to participate. It is of the greatest importance to record a wide variety of expertise from the practice. You do not need to be a certified case manager to take the survey. Click here to get started.

One of the other things that I noted when researching the question - Where is the evidence to support the practice of case management? - is that those conducting the research come from an elite group of professionals. Two of these professionals were featured in the second annual Case In Point Leadership Issue.

Hussein Tahan and Diane Huber were chosen by the editorial staff of Case In Point as leaders in the areas of academia and research, respectively. Take a few minutes to view their words of wisdom into these important areas and ascertain why we need more case management professionals to add to the body of knowledge supporting our growing practice.

Because case management is a fluid process, ongoing research is needed to accurately identify the current state of the field and document how case management has evolved in response to the changing, overarching environment of health care. Each person reading this e-newsletter has the ability to perform research projects to demonstrate the value they bring to the practice. To fund a research project, CCMC is offering a $10,000 research grant to be awarded to a research-minded candidate every year.

If you have conducted a research project and documented evidence regarding the practice of case management, let me know. I will compile the information and share it with the readers of Case In Point Weekly.

Have a great week!