Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): Patient Care Management

Patient care management in healthcare refers to the coordination and oversight of patient care across the healthcare continuum. This includes coordinating care among different healthcare providers, ensuring that patients receive appropriate care in the right setting, and monitoring patients’ progress and outcomes. Patient care management can involve a variety of activities, such as:

Care coordination: working with different healthcare providers to ensure that patients receive the necessary care and services in a timely and efficient manner.

Case management: assessing patients’ needs, developing a care plan, and monitoring patients’ progress to ensure that they receive appropriate care and achieve desired outcomes.

Disease management: identifying and managing patients with chronic conditions to improve their health and reduce healthcare costs.

Utilization management: ensuring that patients receive the most appropriate level of care, such as inpatient or outpatient, and that healthcare resources are used efficiently.

Transition of care management: ensuring that patients receive appropriate care as they move from one healthcare setting to another, such as from hospital to home.

Patient care management is typically led by a care manager or case manager, who may be a nurse, social worker, or other healthcare professional with the appropriate training and experience. The goal of patient care management is to improve the quality of care and the health outcomes for patients, while also reducing healthcare costs.