Educate yourself about alternative treatments
Expect questions as patients pay out of pocket
When physicians write discharge orders for patients, they leave the arrangements for the case managers to make.
This means that the case managers get the questions and complaints about why their post-discharge care is necessary, what is covered, and what the out-of-pocket expenses will be.
Case managers should expect consumers to confront them with questions about their recommendations, physicians’ orders, and the cost of health care and should educate themselves so they’ll be prepared to answer, says Patrice L. Spath, BA, RHIT, owner of Brown-Spath and Associates, a Forest Grove, OR, firm specializing in educational programs on quality management, utilization control, and patient safety issues.
Savvy case managers will educate themselves about what things cost and about alternative types of treatment, she adds.
"Sometimes if a patient asks which is more cost effective, the provider takes affront. Case managers need to know the questions are coming and should be able to answer them," Spath adds.
If the cost of care is coming out of their pocket, patients may choose not to do everything that needs to be done. "One of the problems with the health care system has been that the patient is too far removed from the cost of care. Patients are beginning to be confronted by the cost of care and are going to become more discriminating purchasers," she says.
When physicians write discharge orders for patients, they leave the arrangements for the case managers to make.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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