Clinical case management: definition, principles, components

Abstract

The burgeoning field of case management for long-term psychiatric patients has been handicapped by a lack of conceptual models that delineate the diverse activities of case managers. Based on the actual practice of case management, the author outlines a model of clinical case management that moves beyond the view of the case manager as a systems coordinator, service broker, or supportive companion. Using a contemporary biopsychosocial model of mental illness, the clinical case management model integrates the clinical acumen, personal involvement, and environmental interventions needed to address the overall maintenance of the patient's physical and social environment. Clinical case management involves 13 distinct activities, including engagement of the patient, assessment, planning, linkage with resources, consultation with families, collaboration with psychiatrists, patient psychoeducation, and crisis intervention.