CNS-DIRECTED CASE-MANAGEMENT - COST AND QUALITY IN HARMONY

Preserving the integrity of high quality care in a financially restric ted environment is the primary challenge facing healthcare providers. The critical question is which delivery system will use limited resour ces most efficiently without jeopardizing quality of care? Case manage ment has been identified as a solution that offers the most promise. T he case management model at Sioux Valley Hospital was developed to dea l proactively with resource-intensive patients with chronic illnesses who have frequent admissions and who create financial risk for the hos pital. The authors describe the fiscal and clinical outcomes of these select patients.