Patient care coordinators: successfully merging utilization management and discharge planning.
Facilitating patient-focused, cost-effective care throughout the continuum is a challenge that requires creativity of healthcare administrators. At Children's Hospital, Boston, the patient care coordinator (PCC) role was developed to improve communication and linkage among healthcare providers, payer organizations, and families by blending the functions of utilization management and discharge planning into a unit-based leadership role. The authors describe the PCC role and illustrate its goals and outcomes with examples.
D001900:Boston; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000458:organization & administration; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D010351:Patient Discharge; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000458:organization & administration*