Introduction to Responding, Developing and Reviewing Case Management for Clients
This unit is part of the Diploma of Community Services (Case Management), aninteractive and supportive course that will guide you through a number of strategies when working with clients. Practical application will provide you with valuable real life industry experience that will allow you to build upon the skills and knowledge learned throughout the course.
Each week you will be required to read your learning resource, watch either a TED talk or YouTube clip and read from other text. If at any time you have a question, please contact your trainer who is here to support you through your learning journey. On the left hand side of your page you will see a discussions tab, here you can interact with other fellow students in a forum that is not only supported by your trainer but you are able to share ideas and thoughts with like minded people.
Case management is a modern approach to the organisation of services supplied to a client by a human services delivery agency – whether it is public, not for profit or private. Case management refers to the approach used in a health and social service delivery setting that focuses on identifying the needs of the client. Case Management is underpinned by comprehensive assessment, goal setting, and individualised service delivery to ensure that the client experiences the best possible outcome. The ultimate aim of case management is to empower the client and so their ongoing involvement in the process is crucial.
CHCCSM005 What is Case Management Case management is a relatively new professional philosophy. The Case Management Society of Australia (CMSA) was only established in 1996. It has operated mainly in the health care domain where a range of professional disciplines have come together in order to improve the quality of their services. In this context, case management is an attempt to integrate service delivery. It is part of the image of “professional” behaviour. It has a moral focus over and above any legal obligations. Seen in commercial business terms, case management is similar to a client relationship management system – where the needs of the customer are primary. Case management is evolving – it is a relatively new approach to human services and its mandate is limited. This situation will change over time, as case management becomes part of the innate philosophy of care service providers.
Principles
Case management principles are the founding pillar of this method of organising client information. As the body of knowledge has grown, generic principles have emerged. The Case Management Society of Australia [CMSA] has adopted the general definition of its parent body in the USA.
“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.” [CMSA website]The following principles were generated from promotional explanations on the CMSA website:
- Case management is a service delivery approach now widely adopted across diverse settings in the human services and health sectors.
- Best practice in case management requires organisational arrangements to support service delivery, staff trained for the approach and its application to the particular practice setting, and strategies to ensure that the organisation can be responsive to evidence based practice and advocate for systemic and policy change to support service delivery.
- The principles that underpin case management are individualised service delivery based on a comprehensive assessment that is used to develop a case or service plan.
- The plan is developed in collaboration with the client and reflects their choices and preferences for the service arrangements being developed. The goal is to empower the client and ensure that they are involved in all aspects of the planning and service arrangement in a dynamic way.
- The case manager coordinates the process – consulting informal carers and key service providers to ensure that the plan is developed appropriately, clearly contracted and monitored for effective and financially accountable service provision, based on specified and desired outcomes. The case manager and the organisation are expected to maintain quality in service provision for individual clients and the wider target population.
- In clinical settings, the case manager may also provide specialist services to address the particular needs of the client.
- The case management approach assumes that clients with complex and multiple needs will access services from a range of service providers and the goal is to achieve seamless service delivery. This assumption highlights that the concept of case management being based in service provision arrangements that require different responses from within organisations and across organisational boundaries.
- Case management is described as a boundary spanning strategy to ensure service provision is client rather than organisationally driven.
- Case managers provide the coordinating and specialist activities that flow from the particular setting, program and client population. However, it is usual to identify the following process as core to case management: screening, assessment/risk management, care planning, implementing service arrangement, monitoring/evaluation and advocacy.
These principles form a starting point for case management. In the absence of any other provisions, they serve as a benchmark for best available standards of care.
Case management also has to coexist within the principles of the various agencies and the parameters associated with their specific values. In the case of government departments, these parameters may include human rights obligations, alongside privacy, discrimination and equal opportuni