Case managers in a hospital are positioned in the political middle stretching between the needs of patients while your efforts to meet your organization’s strategic goals are pulling in the opposite direction.

But how do you meet the needs of your patients and your organization, and garner the support you need from your organization’s executive team?

Too often Hospitals seem simply to want to “ Get the patient out”, focus on length of stay issues and do not have support strategies for case managers to bring full support for patients to feel they are going home where they can be safe and manage themselves and their care needs.

How do you obtain medications not covered by insurance or even more difficult, the patient has no insurance and needs antihypertensives, hyperglycemics or other medications? Knowledge of community services is imperative as well as finding local programs that provide low cost prescriptions such as the $4.00 for 30 days that are advertised in the media.

Believe it or not patients are often unaware of these programs. What about patients who are going home and need dressing supplies ? Help with obtaining these supplies? Or no insurance to help them with these needs? Hospitals are strained financially these days and cannot supply a patient with these things at the time of discharge. Many of my patients are very poor, and do not have resources to purchase these items.

Does anyone have information on resources for dressing supplies, DME etc?

by Donna Berry, RN, BS, LNHA – Case Manager