Case Management Educational Offerings, Resources and Tools for Individuals and Staff Training

Pat Stricker, RN, MEd
Senior Vice President
TCS Healthcare Technologies

The Case Management Society of America (CMSA) recently announced the release of its 2016 Extended Conference packages. If you aren’t aware of this program, it is an educational offering that consists of online, on-demand recorded sessions that were presented at this summer’s Annual Conference in Long Beach. It’s a perfect way for case managers who were not able to attend the conference, or for those who attended but were unable to view all the sessions they wanted, to "attend a virtual conference" offering 5, 20, or 35 sessions from the comfort of their own home and obtain continuing education credits (CEs). The packages are offered at a discount for conference attendees and CMSA members. And the courses are available until August 2017, so they can be completed at your own pace. How easy is that? I encourage you to check out the 35 sessions offered from this year’s conference.

This made me think about all of the other educational offerings and resource tools that CMSA provides for its members and for organizations who are responsible for providing staff training. It is difficult for case managers to obtain the CEs needed each year for licensure and equally difficult for organizations to find meaningful educational offerings for their case management staff. CMSA helps in this area by providing numerous free educational offerings and resource tools. Other programs are provided for a nominal fee to members and for an additional fee to non-members.

I know it’s hard enough to keep up with work and your personal life, so there’s probably not too much extra time to research what’s available on the CMSA website. So I thought I would review a few of these programs for you. If there are some you are not familiar with, I encourage you to check them out. They are designed to provide you with quick access to the resources you need, so you have more time to spend with your patients/clients.

Let’s start with the educational offerings. In addition to the Extended Conference mentioned above, the following are also available:

• Educational Resource Library: Over 140 recorded sessions with CEs from previous conferences that are available free of charge to members.

• Case Management Adherence Guide (CMAGs):evidence-based assessment and intervention tools to improve medication and treatment adherence; in-depth information on how to apply CMAG principals to specific disease states and populations; topics include Breast Cancer, COPD, Depression, Diabetes, and Pain.

• Career and Knowledge Pathways (CKP): a contextual learning program based on the CMSA Standards of Practice that allows users to learn at their own pace; uses multiple delivery methods including traditional content and structure of learning modules, but also introduces avatar simulations, case studies, testing, and videos from industry experts to encourage a collaborative, flexible, innovative, fun learning experience; CEs are provided.

• Integrated Case Management Training Program (ICM): an intensive, advanced program that focuses on providing medical and behavioral case managers with the content and skills to perform systematic complex assessments, develop and manage comprehensive and coordinated physical and mental health care plans, apply consistent anchor points, and record outcomes; the goals is to empower medical and behavioral case managers to feel comfortable handling patients without transferring them from one case manager to another; fosters an alliance between the CM and the patient/client using motivational interviewing skills; incorporates home study, virtual participation via online sessions, face-to-face training, and competency testing; CEs are provided; an additional pediatric course is available to those who complete the initial ICM training.

• Safer Transitions, Fewer Re-Hospitalizations with PAH: An Interdisciplinary Guide: a practical guide for improving transitions of care in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) developed by CMSA and the National Transitions of Care Coordination (NTOCC); focuses on inter-professional coordination and system-based approaches to effectively minimize hospital readmissions and optimize outcomes; incorporates essential interventions and pathways designed to ensure effective and safe transitions of care across healthcare settings; free online access to pre-test, guide, evaluation and post-test with CEs.

• CMSA’s Annual Conference and Expo: the premier educational experience that offers networking opportunities, educational tracks and symposia offering CEs, policy updates, motivational keynote speakers, networking opportunities, access to products and services from hundreds of vendors, and updates on new healthcare research, reforms and technologies. (CMSA members received a $150 registration discount and groups of three or more receive an additional discount if registering together.)

• Publications: official publications devoted to evidence-based science and career development:

• CMSA Today, CMSA’s official magazine, is published quarterly; provides digital and print formats, e-newsletters and a complementary news website.

• Professional Case Management: The Leader in Evidence-Based Practice, CMSA’s official peer-reviewed online journal includes best practices, industry benchmarks, practical hands-on information, continuing education opportunities, and cutting-edge research; free access to members; print version available for an additional cost.

• CMSA Today e-Newsletter: free monthly e-Newsletter provided to over 25,000 health care professionals and CMSA members; past issues (from 2011) are available in an online archive.

• Supplemental Educational Resources: educational materials provided to CMSA through Partnering Organizations:

• AAPPO Bariatric Surgery Best Practice: free issue briefs from the American Association of PPOs on Best Practices for Assuring Successful Bariatric Surgery Outcomes (AAPPO); address the expected impact of bariatric surgery, patient engagement strategies, benefit design strategies, and the need for multidisciplinary care; the AAPPO’s website also contains links to other obesity prevention and treatment information.

• Athena Forum: accredited CE education with curriculum specifically designed using Needs Assessment research collected from 400 RN Case Managers nationwide; curriculum includes courses on asthma, behavioral health, breast cancer, CAD, CHF, COPD, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, women's health, obesity management, pain management, rheumatoid arthritis, and more.

• Essentials of Case Management: online, accredited CE courses designed to assist case managers who are new to the industry, preparing for the CCM exam, exploring more efficient models of delivery across the care continuum, or searching for effective case management tools, techniques, and best practices.

• KCI Web-Based Modules: web-based, accredited education courses and coding guidelines on Wound Care, Bariatrics, and Critical Care; resource information for case managers on Wound Care, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Epidermal Harvesting, and the Charity Care program for patients with no health insurance.

• AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program (AHRQ): a continuing education website providing CEs in patient-centered outcomes research, quality and patient safety, and quality improvement.

In additional to the educational offerings noted above, CMSA also provides numerous resource tools for its members:

• Resource Toolbox: a collection of hundreds of white papers, journal articles, websites, and resources based upon categories or work settings; users can browse the list of resources by searching and sorting the information to make their customized list:

• Resource examples: access, certifications, child health, clinical guidelines/evidence-based practice, cultural competency, disability and assistive technology, disease/chronic conditions, eldercare, health literacy, hospice/palliative care/end of life, medical tourism, mentoring, military case management, PCMH/ACOs, pharmacy assistance, quality improvement, reimbursement/economics, and transitional care.

• Work-setting examples: ACO, acute care, ambulatory/community care, business owner, disability insurance, disease management, education research, employer/occupational health, government agencies, health insurance/MCO, home care, hospice, independent CM company, long-term care/subacute, MD practice/PSO, military, PCMH, rehabilitation, and worker’s comp.

• Care Management Industry Directory: an online vendor directory designed to allow quick, easy, targeted searches for industry products and services.

It is also important to mention that in 2016, CMSA updated the CMSA Standards of Practice and the Core Curriculum for Case Management textbook:

• 2016 Standards of Practice: newly revised standards provide practice guidelines for the case management industry and its diverse stakeholders that include emphasis on the professional nature of the practice and role of the case manager as an integral and necessary component of the health care delivery system; identify and address important foundational knowledge, skills, and competencies for the professional case manager within a spectrum of case management practice settings, specialties, and health and human service disciplines.

• CMSA Core Curriculum for Case Management: a comprehensive curriculum textbook, sponsored by CMSA, that provides core knowledge, best practices, descriptions of key terms, essential skills, and tools that fulfill the current CMSA standards and requirements; addresses the full spectrum of healthcare professional roles and environments; a certification study guide and vital clinical resource for case management professionals in all specialty areas, from students to veteran case managers; essential content for academic reference, training, certification study, case management model design, performance or program evaluation.

While the following program is not offered by CMSA, I highly recommend that you spend a few minutes reviewing it, especially if you are responsible for providing staff training. The Blueprint for Excellence program, developed by the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) provides free quality improvement and workforce training programs related to Home Health and Hospice/Palliative: Care at the End of Life. The programs consist of best practices, curriculum, training tools, and relevant research all in one online site. Each section includes 4 modules (Care Initiation, Clinical Conditions and Symptoms, Patient and Caregiver Engagement, and Patient Safety) that consist of 10 topics. Each topic consists of an overview PowerPoint presentation that introduces the topic, outlines its critical importance, and explains the relevant tools and resources. After reviewing this, users are encouraged to explore the resources, critical interventions and measurement and evaluation tools for that topic. Each topic area is self-contained and designed to use on its own in a quality improvement or training program. These could easily be used for individual self-study or by trainers responsible for providing staff training. It does not appear the course provides CEs, but modules may be able to be submitted to accrediting agencies for CEs. Check with VNAA.

Keeping abreast of relevant, ever-changing information, resources, new interventions and strategies, research and a myriad of other data on all healthcare conditions is almost impossible. However, CMSA is there providing us with relevant, up-to-date, accurate education, resources, and told to make our job easier.

Pat Stricker, RN, MEd, is senior vice president of Clinical Services at TCS Healthcare Technologies. She can be reached at pstricker@tcshealthcare.com.