A Practical Guide for Acute Care Case Management is an excellent reference and guide for case managers entering the acute care practice setting. As a fellow case manager in acute care, a colleague in our case management professional association, and leader among leaders, Dr. Colleen Morley’s ability to translate personal career experiences into professional career lessons for others is impactful.  Dr. Morley is a uniquely qualified case manager and credits the lived experience of working in a new case management setting, as the motivation for writing this book.  She has written every word from the prism of a professional who wants to succeed in a clinical area that is different from other case management settings such as workers compensation, health plans, insurance, disability management, telephonic care management, or academia, to name a few. 

Fifteen chapters highlight the case management process within the context of utilization review, internal and external care continuum, transition planning, communities of practice, ethics, compliance, denials management, coordination of care, advanced directives, and other special topics.  These diverse topics are presented from the perspective of an individual case manager and also provides insight into the myriad of responsibilities of an acute care case manager leader.  The book outlines the practical aspects of acute care management in a way that provides a roadmap for directors, senior managers, and supervisors. Leaders can use this guide as a resource for orientation, training, or competency-based assessments.  

In 1997, I had the good fortune of enrolling as a student in the University of Arizona’s inaugural Case Management track for Masters of Science in the Adult Health Nursing program.  I did not know it at the time, but the pursuit of this clinical track would become a defining milestone in the trajectory of my career as a nurse and Air Force officer.  The program offered a diverse set of clinical experiences that illustrated the benefit of case management in community health, managed care, workers’ compensation, insurance and disability, health plans, and acute care.  I remember how excited I was about the impact clinical case management could have on the most severely injured or ill patients who needed significant support and resources to heal, recover, and be restored.

I spent the next two decades of my professional career as an Air Force officer and nurse leader intent on institutionalizing professional case management within the Department of Defense’s Military Health System (MHS).  With the help of committed leaders from the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, and TRICARE Support Contractors, I successfully implemented policies, standards, training, coding and reimbursement, multimillion-dollar contracts, and specialized programs throughout the system, within the United States and overseas.

In particular, specialized programs were game-changers in acute care settings dispersed across the MHS.  Programs complete with clinical practice guidelines, case management algorithms, specified coding for wounded warrior care, disease-specific specialties, and integrated care management evolved throughout clinics, regional hospitals, and medical centers around the world.  New positions, career paths, and personnel contracts were developed.  Transitions of care procedures were standardized between the MHS and Veterans Administration (VA), providing safe, uniform, quality handoffs between the two healthcare systems. For over twenty years, the MHS has embraced clinical case management and achieved better health outcomes for patients and families coping with acute care needs.

One of the most successful outcomes of professionalizing clinical case management in the MHS was the ability to develop a leadership track for case managers.  The MHS leadership ladder resulted in case managers serving in executive positions at hospitals, regional TRICARE centers, and the headquarters of every military department.  The content and information in A Practical Guide for Acute Care Case Management will provide the tools and inspiration for case managers to advance their careers in both leadership and clinical paths.

This book fills a gap in an area of case management that can be complex and overwhelming.  Yet, Dr. Morley has successfully developed a guide that clearly identifies the most important topics necessary for acute care case management.  As a 30-year career military officer and health care leader, I am honored to pen the foreword for this book.  It is an excellent guide, advances the body of knowledge for professional case managers and Dr. Morley delivers on the promise of practical application. This book will not be a “virtual background prop” on a shelf, but rather a dog-eared, sticky-noted, and highlighted guide used by case managers and supervisors in everyday practice!