You're managing a high-stakes case with multiple specialists. How do you prioritize client needs effectively?

Being an active listener is key to effectively assess the needs of client. It is very important to be precise in the client assessment to avoid wastage of resources.

This is the key to effective and supportive case management. The client is key to successful outcomes. Knowing your client helps facilitate a great working relationship

Conduct a thorough initial assessment to understand the client's needs, goals, and expectations. This helps in identifying critical areas that require immediate attention and ensures that the client's priorities are clearly defined from the outset.

It is years since Angela Coulter described patients and those close to them as a huge untapped resource in healthcare. The UK remains in its infancy in co-production between ‘patients’ and professionals! Such a genuinely holistic approach adds value to the lives of all parties! It requires raising awareness, some coaching, and rebalancing responsibilities! HIV management has been in the vanguard of this approach, initially at the insistence of the communities most affected in the 1980s and 90s. With multiple morbidity and the alarming rise in obesity, co-production is more needed than ever! Empowered patients and communities have much less anxiety and relieve pressure of work and improve job satisfaction for clinicians!

Building trust is a very important part of our assessment. If the patient does not trust us they may not feel comfortable telling us personal issues they are having. I also think we need to really listen to the patient when they speak. As a Case Manager, we often have to play detective to figure out what our patients needs are because they may not be able to articulate it to us. That is where the trust and knowing our patients well makes all the difference. An example: I had a client that had very poor reading comprehension. She was a smart lady but struggled with her Medicaid paperwork. She would cover up her embarrassment with anger or jokes. She felt comfortable enough with me to tell me the truth and she was able to ask me anything.

The care team can change ( vacation, etc.) so ensure that documentation is up to date and highlights critical information to move patient along the continuum. Has labs improved? Is the patient discharge ready but has not come to grips with diagnosis. Did ID want another culture? Is patient no longer meeting medical necessity for insurance, or does patient even have insurance. All of these questions and more are often being explored to implement a safe discharge plan, so the communication within the care team is critical .

Facilitate open communication and collaboration among the specialists involved. Regular coordination meetings and shared updates ensure that all team members are aligned with the client’s objectives and can address any overlapping or conflicting responsibilities effectively.

Based on the client's assessment and specialist input, establish a clear set of priorities. Determine which needs are most urgent and align them with the available resources and expertise, ensuring that critical issues are addressed promptly.

Always keep in mind that the family dynamics play a big role in the progress of the client. Also maintain a good resource base to draw from other input of like professionals without compromising your hipa

Allocate resources, including time, personnel, and budget, based on the established priorities. Ensure that the most critical areas have sufficient support while also planning for flexibility to adjust resource distribution as the case evolves.

Have them request that from their family member or have them ask the family member if they could b involved in the next session. So that it would be the clients choice and not yours

Identify potential risks early and develop strategies to mitigate them. This includes contingency planning for unexpected challenges and ensuring that the team is prepared to pivot if necessary to protect the client's interests.

Implement a system for tracking progress and outcomes against the client’s goals. Regularly review and adjust the strategy as needed to ensure that the case remains on track, and communicate progress to the client to maintain transparency.

Have the client state their goals and establish a realistic time frame to meet the goals then document a check list according to priority. At each subsequent meeting discuss the progress towards the goals and document that s well. This gives a visual to the client as to the progress and the efforts they have applied themselves. It also creates an updated timeline as to how far they still have to attain their goals