URAC and CMSA Celebrate a 15 year Shared History - Organizations Release “Converging Pathways - a Journey Toward Quality Case Management” at Case Management Society of America’s Conference and Expo - Orlando, Florida
URAC and CMSA Release Issue Brief on the History of Case Management- Converging Pathways to Quality
Orlando, FL (PRWEB) June 22, 2005 -- URAC and the Case Management Society of
America (CMSA) celebrate 15 years shared history at CMSA’s annual Conference and
Expo. Some 2500 case management practitioners are expected to attend the
conference which begins today through June 25 at the Gaylord Palms Resort in
Orlando.
To commemorate their 15 year history URAC and CMSA have jointly
published an issue brief entitled “Converging Pathways- a Journey Toward Quality
Case Management,” that will premier at the conference. The brief outlines the
history of case management and its role in ensuring health care quality and
efficiency.
“While CMSA has focused its efforts on the standards of
practice for the individual case manager, URAC focused its efforts on standards
of practice for organizations providing case management services,” Annette
Watson, RN, CCM, MBA, a vice president at URAC said. “Because of those two
tandem activities developed in an atmosphere of collaborative communication and
with a common goal, together we have achieved the transformation of case
management into an integral part of the total health care delivery system.”
“Individual professional case managers can be expertly prepared, but if
they’re working in an organization that is not committed to case management
quality, they will not be able to achieve the outcomes they are capable of,”
said Jeanne Boling, MSN, CRRN, CDMS, CCM, executive director of CMSA and member
of URAC’s Board of Directors. “URAC accreditation serves the critical function
of establishing the organization’s policies, procedures and structure needed for
optimal case management performance.”
During the meeting in Orlando,
URAC’s Watson and Garry Carneal will present “An Overview of Trends and
Challenges Impacting CM Practice.” The presentation will include a discussion of
the paths that URAC and CMSA have taken to assure quality in case management
since both organizations were established in 1990, and harmonizes with the
conference theme, “Past Success — Future Significance: A Strategic Forecast for
Quality Healthcare.” As part of the session URAC will also present preliminary
findings from its “Trends and Practices in Medical Management: 2005 Industry
Profile” survey. As the nation’s leading accrediting body for medical management
services, URAC tracks and trends medical management issues through research,
focus groups and its relationships with the hundreds of health plans and medical
management organizations that hold one or more of the seventeen different
accreditations that URAC offers.
CMSA was established as a professional
organization to support and develop the profession of case management through
educational forums, networking opportunities and legislative involvement. “Over
the years, as CMSA developed educational tools and Standards of Practice for
individual case managers, URAC set quality standards for organizations using
case management,” said Watson.
To learn more about the CMSA 15 Annual
Conference and Expo visit: http://www.cmsa.org/Conference/2005ORLANDO/
To read
“Converging Pathways, A Journey Toward Quality Case Management” go to: www.urac.org/documents/URACIssueBrief3FINALWEB.pdf
For
a list of URAC Case Management Accredited Companies go to: http://www.urac.org/prog_accred_CM_orgs.asp
About
URAC’s CMSA Annual Conference & Expo presentation:
“An Overview of
Trends and Challenges Impacting CM Practice”
URAC’s Garry Carneal and
Annette Watson will speak at the CMSA meeting on Friday, June 24, 2005 from
10:45 to11:45 am. They will present preliminary findings from URAC’s Medical
Management 2005 Industry Profile Survey of nearly 300 respondent companies (full
study to be released in October, 2005) and discuss recent trends in case
management such as integration of utilization management, disease management and
case management service. Some of the other findings that will be discussed
include trends in technology, further integration of staffing and operations for
medical management services, and a strong interest in demonstrating return on
investment for all medical management services. Visit URAC during the CMSA
meting at exhibit booth #928.
About URAC
URAC, an independent,
nonprofit organization, is well-known as a leader in promoting health care
quality through its accreditation and certification programs. URAC offers a wide
range of quality benchmarking programs and services that keep pace with the
rapid changes in the health care system, and provide a symbol of excellence for
organizations to validate their commitment to quality and accountability.
Through its broad-based governance structure and an inclusive standards
development process, URAC ensures that all stakeholders are represented in
establishing meaningful quality measures for the entire health care industry.
For more information, visit www.urac.org
About CMSA
Established in 1990, the
Case Management Society of America has over 9,000 members and is the only
international non-profit 501 (c) (6), multi-disciplinary, professional
organization dedicated to the support and advancement of the case management
profession. Since its inception, CMSA has been at the forefront of setting
professional standards for the industry, which allows for the highest level of
efficiency and integrity, as well as developing national and local leaders who
are recognized for their practice and professional excellence. For more
information, visit www.cmsa.org
Contact: Karla Hurter
(703)319-0957 URAC
e-mail protected from spam bots
Contact: Tena
Bolin
(501)225-2229 ext 43
CMSA
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb253750.htm