I am back from a great vacation — rejuvenated and ready for a busy and exciting summer. In this week’s edition of Across My Desk, I wanted to introduce a new resource that Dorland Healthcare Information (DHI), the publisher of Case in Point, Case Management Resource Guide (CMRG), and Across My Desk, recently released to assist case managers in meeting the need to ensure that their patients are being treated according to evidence-based guidelines. Today, there is a plethora of information on the web which makes finding credible and objective information difficult to near impossible. Case managers, as liaisons to healthcare professionals as well as to consumers, must educate as well as provide valid evidence that supports their recommended plans of care. As such, having credible and objective sources at your fingertips is critical.
To meet this need, DHI has developed and released Dorland’s Healthcare Website Guide, which allows healthcare professionals as well as consumers to locate websites with important information they can use to understand a new disease as well as to make informed decisions regarding treatment options. Specialists in each disease state came together to build this valuable, time-saving resource and have rated each site so that professionals and consumes alike can have confidence in the information presented. Each volume identifies, describes, filters and rates the best websites for the most common diseases and health conditions. As professionals who are charged with caring for the 20 percent of the population who utilize 80 percent of today’s healthcare resources, case managers can utilize the Web Guide with confidence. Take a few minutes during your day to view Dorland’s Healthcare Website Guide online.
In other news, the countdown is on for the Case Management Society of America’s Annual Conference, which will be held in Denver, Colo., June 19-23. In talking to the leadership of CMSA, the conference will be the best yet. Those who attend will find a wealth of information that will enhance their practices. If you are going, make sure you stop by our booth to pick up a free copy of the Dorland’s Healthcare Website Guide available while supplies last. In addition, anyone who comes by the booth with the June issue of Case in Point will have the $15 CE charge for that issue waived. To allow those of you not attending this year’s conference to feel connected, I will provide a special edition of Across My Desk each day to report on show highlights.
In addition to the main expo, there will be many side conferences this year. An example is the 2nd Annual Medical Management Meeting System Innovation Conference sponsored by the American Board of Quality Assurance & Utilization Review Physicians Inc. (ABQAURP). The meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 19 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Convention Center. The one-day conference is accredited for nurses for 9.9 contact hours; credit for CCM is pending. To learn about the meeting and the special rates for the meeting, go to the ABQAURP conference site.
Finally, to gain insight into case management trends, we have developed an online survey for all involved in the practice to provide input. Please take a few minutes to answer the survey, which is accessible online at CMRG.com. The survey will run until July 30 and the results of the survey will be published in the October/November issue of Case in Point. All who participate in the survey will be eligible to receive a special gift . . . so don’t delay. Go to CMRG.com to complete the brief survey. And feel free to extend this invitation to your colleagues so that they, too, will be eligible to receive a free gift and so that we can get an even better overview of the practice.
Take care and have a good week!
Anne Llewellyn, RN-BC, MS, BHSA, CCM, CRRN
Editor-in-Chief of Across My Desk, Case in Point magazine, and the Case Management Resource Guide
allewellyn@dorlandhealth.com
