One of the most popular topics in case management discussion this year has been Social Dominants of Health, but how can case managers take their new focus on these social, psychosocial and financial factors into the realm of patient-centered health? We will explore the groundbreaking new perspective put forth by Dr. Mark Sullivan in his recent book The Patient: An Agent of Health and Health Care, in which he discusses how to take the patient as the primary perceiver and producer of health. These ideas will be examined in connection with the ideas of Atul Gawande and others who have been examining the American health care system from the perspective of patient engagement and unintended consequences of some of our healthcare policies. The session will include case managers’ ethical and professional obligations as defined in the CCMC Code of Professional Conduct and the CMSA standards of practice.
At the end of this session, learners will be able to:
- Describe the theory of health as the capacity for meaningful action.
- Identify the role patients play in their own healthcare choices and how that is more than traditional notions of informed consent.
- Apply the CCMC Code of Professional Conduct to a broader understanding of patient self-determination and implications for case managers’ interactions with their clients.
This applies to Principle 2 – Board Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will respect the rights and inherent dignity of all their clients and Principle 4 – Board Certified Case Managers (CCMs) will act with integrity and fidelity with clients and others.
Eric Bergman, RN, CCM, is an International Nurse Case Manager for AXA Assistance, one of the world’s leading travel assistance companies. At AXA he has worked as the case manager overseeing the evaluation and coordination of care all over the world for patients struck by a sudden illness while abroad, as well as a repatriation escort. He currently does telephonic case management for US expatriates in German, Canada, and Mexico with chronic or complex acute issues. As a repatriation nurse, Eric uses his expertise in both nursing and international travel to safely move ill patients home. He works for AXA’s Chicago office where he spent two years as the leader of the medical department education committee.