Case Management Case Study

Case management refers to when a person or people in need require an environmental intervention. The Conrad Hilton Association defines case management as “one of the primary services offered to individuals and families who face multiple challenges, including severe mental illness, addiction, and homelessness.” Case management often helps those who are struggling or who are in need, however, the term tends to be used very loosely within organizations.

Historically, case management is a relatively new term. There have, of course, been interventions and assistance for those in need in the past, however the actual concept of case management has only been introduced within the last few decades. Joel Kanter states “Although environmental interventions have been conducted for many years, the term case management did not enter our professional vocabulary until 1976, when it was articulated as a key element of the Principles for Accreditation of Community Mental Health Service Programs, issued by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals.” Case management is a complex term, often hard to define, which historically caused issues. No person’s issues are exactly the same, and there was not much of a guideline to address both environmental and psychological components. Finally, as Kanter states, a case management model was created to help alleviate these historical issues. The Case Management Model helped define what case management case, and that there are both psychological and environmental issues that need to be addressed when using case management. The model helped address the issue of case management being a “loose” term, and gave it more definition and structure.

There are several key components needed in order to ma...

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...well being on their shoulders. If a patient is not doing well in treatment, it is often looked at as what is case management doing wrong. They are relied on to make any changes if a patient is not doing well. I can imagine a lot of case managers getting burnt out, with the pressure of having tremendous responsibility for patients, as well as having to complete several tasks for them. They must fulfill a patients needs on several levels, and do not receive much assistance. I am sure it takes a lot of energy to be in case management, and can, at times, be a thankless job. Working in the mental health field, I see first hand the importance of case management. Kanter helped show me the complexity of what case managers do, and all that they provide for patients. Case management is definitely needed, however, and I am a little surprised it is a relatively new term