Data interpretation and reporting

Case Management Reports

Case Managers are constantly encountering data.  Interpreting and reporting the data is dependent on what the data will be used for.
Some examples of how data can be used include:

  • Patient care reports
  • Quality improvement
  • Cost benefit of Case Management services
  • To justify continuation of intervention
  • To demonstrate lack of results with current intervention and justify approving more costly intervention

Patient reports

The frequency of patient reports may vary, but should always be done at case closure. They should include:

  • Justification for case management involvement such as the diagnosis
  • Desired outcomes
  • Progress toward the outcomes
  • Cost of care with case management intervention
  • Cost of care without case management intervention
  • Cost savings due to case management intervention

Quality Improvement Reports

  • Indicator being measured
  • Case management intervention
  • Measurement used to evaluate response to intervention
  • Improvement in quality directly related to CM intervention

Cost Benefit Report

Cost benefit reports provide a summary of case management intervention and should include:

  • Diagnosis
  • Summary of interventions
  • Total time in cm
  • Total cost without case management intervention
  • Total cost with case management intervention
  • Total cost savings

Additional information can be found at Cost Benefit Analysis

Justification of Continuation of Intervention

Some interventions need documentation of progress for continuation. In these cases provide:

  • Data prior to initiation of intervention
  • Current data
  • Goal of intervention

Example for a patient receiving physical therapy.

  • Data prior to initiation of intervention: Ambulates 12 feet with wheeled walker and max assist.
  • Current data: Ambulates 100 feet with straight cane and stand by assist.
  • Goal: Ambulate 250 feet independently with least restrictive assistive device

Justify More Costly intervention

When current intervention is not working a more costly intervention will sometimes require documentation of a failed lower cost option. In this instance provide:

  • Prior data
  • Data with current therapy with minimal or no progress
  • Duration of current intervention
  • Cost of current intervention
  • Proposed intervention
  • Cost of proposed intervention
  • Duration of proposed intervention
  • Goal of proposed intervention